This Brave New World
by Rissatregar
Summary: The story picks up right at the end of season 5 and goes into how I think season 6 might look. Bellamy and Clarke are the focus of the story but most characters will make an appearance. New planet, new problems, and a new promise. How will Bellamy and Clarke find a way to make it to the surface and are they alone?
1. Chapter 1

**This was going to be a one shot...but...kind of liking where this is going. Hope you do too! Please, let me know you thoughts and leave a review. More to come soon!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights to CW, I own nothing but my imagination.**

 **This Brave New World**

Bellamy and Clarke were vaguely aware that the recording had stopped as they held on to each other for support. It was only when they heard a large sniffle that they snapped to the present moment. Clarke looked up at Bellamy, who was looking over her head and she turned following his gaze to see Jordon sitting at the console, tears streaming down his face sobbing. Clarke didn't know this young man, but her heart broke for him in that instant. Both her and Bellamy walked over to him, flanking him on either side in silent support and placed their hands on his shoulders as they shook in grieving heaves.

He turned in the chair to Clarke, burying his face in her side as she looked up with surprise to Bellamy who just smiled softly at them both. They stayed like that for a few minutes until his grip loosened on Clarke's waist and he wiped his face on his sleeve, looking up at them. "Sorry," He said softly, cheeks coloring with embarrassment. "I knew that this would come and I thought of it as soon as I woke, but to see them, and hear Dad say that Mom had past...I guess it just hit me all at once." He said furiously wiping away any last moisture left on his cheeks.

Clarke looked at him sympathetically and smiled softly, not taking her hand from his shoulder, "It's totally understandable Jordan. There's no need to apologize. They were your parents." The words sounding foreign as they came out of her mouth.

Bellamy cut in softly as he turned sitting on the edge of the console desk, "Do you need some time before we start waking people up?" His eyes flicked up to Clarke's quickly and she knew right away that he was anxious to get others awake.

Jordan looked up eyes widening at the thought, "Ummm," he said shifting in his seat slightly uncomfortable. "Wow, others, I, Um...this is so weird." He stuttered talking through his thought process. "If it wouldn't be to much trouble? I think I could use just a little bit of time? I would like to just watch through a few other entries that weren't addressed to you if that's okay?" His eyes were brimming with bright new tears as he looked back and forth between Clarke and Bellamy.

Bellamy stood and gently clapped him on the shoulder, letting his hand linger a little, "Absolutely. Clarke and I will give you some space." And he jerked his head towards the door as he locked eyes with Clarke and she nodded.

"Yeah, take your time Jordan. We will go get something to eat." She gently squeezed his shoulder and turned to leave with Bellamy.

They were both stopped short but Jordan saying, "Thanks, and, um..." causing them both to turn and look at him with the new planet glowing bright behind him. "Mom and Dad said you guys would be great. Sorry, I'm not really used to new people." He apologized softly.

""Don't worry about it Jordan." Bellamy said with a smile. Clarke nodded in agreement and a smile of her own and they slipped out closing the door to give him privacy.

Bellamy and Clarke walked down the hall in silence, both running over the last hour or so since waking in their minds, processing all the information. It was Clarke who finally broke the heavy silence as they entered the abandoned mess hall. "One hundred and twenty five years!" she breathed out trying to wrap her head around it.

Bellamy grabbed a few ration packs for them both as he shook his head in disbelief. "A new planet, we lost Harper and Monty, then find out they have a son? It's a lot to process." He agreed as they prepped a meal without saying anything, just knowing what each other liked and disliked as if no time had passed. It wasn't till they sat at a table did either one of them acknowledge what they did, and they shared a knowing look and smile.

The silence slowly became almost deafening again between them as they started to eat and Bellamy peaked up at Clarke every so often. "So, who should we wake first?" he said clearing his throat awkwardly realizing he was staring after a couple moments.

Clarke focused on her food thinking, "Raven and Shaw should be first, I think." She said peaking up to see his reaction. She found herself hoping that he wouldn't suggest Echo right off the bat, but she shoved that thought deep down inside for later so she could figure out why she was feeling that way. "Madi should be soon though so we can include her on decisions." She added trying not to sound anxious to wake her up.

Bellamy nodded his head in agreement at her assessment and added, "Indra too." He put his fork down and looked Clarke in the eyes. "Did you want to wake your mom now or later?" He asked knowing things had improved but were still strained between them after whatever had happened in the valley.

A shadow passed over Clarke's face and she frowned into her food. "Not yet, there's no point now until we have more things figured out." She knew the first thought her mom would have would be to go straight to Kane, and it wouldn't help anyone if her focus was split. "If we run into anything we can wake Jackson."

They both heard steps coming down the hall, halting their conversation and looked to see Jordan enter the mess, eyes swollen and red from crying but his shoulders were set as he grabbed some rations and a tray heading to where Clarke and Bellamy were sitting.

"So, what's our next move?" he said tearing open his ration pack and starting to eat. Bellamy and Clarke looked at each other forks in mid-air, grins slowly spreading on their faces. Jordan looked up at them both with his mouth full of food. He swallowed slowly, "Oh, Um, sorry. I'm still not used to talking with people other than my parents." And he mumbled to himself something about listening to what his mom told him and stared intently back at his food.

Bellamy huffed out a snort, and then immediately covered his mouth as Jordan's head shot up looking at him as Clarke gave him a death stare telling him he was being inappropriate. It only made him chuckle further, "I'm sorry, man." he set his fork down smiling at Jordan, "I was just picturing Harper giving you crap like a mom would."

There was a moment of silence that lingered before Jordan broke out in a chuckle, "Yeah, she was a hard ass." He said obviously thinking of a specific memory or two. His comment took a second but caused both Clarke and Bellamy to chuckle along with him.

"I got more than one lecture of hers when we were on the ring. I can only imagine how she was with you." Bellamy said starting to eat again shaking his head a little at his own memories.

Jordan smiled and continued eating as Clarke watched the two. She had missed so much time with them when they went up to the ring that her heart ached a little with the thought of it. "Well," she said smiling at Jordan, "We figured we should wake - " She started but Jordan cut her off quickly.

"Raven and Shaw?" His face was bright with excitement, "at least that's what I had always thought you guys would do." And he realized he was jumping in to quick again.

Clarke just smiled lightly again. Jordan was going to take some getting used to. Madi had been alone with Clarke for 6 years, but had had the benefit of being socialized with others for a good portion of her young life before Primfya. "You're right. We were just talking about them. How about after we are done eating you get them a change of clothes and Belamyl and I will wake them?" Clarke said trying to be inclusive without saying she wanted to ease her friends into the news of Monty and Harper having a son and being gone.

Jordan seemed to accept the job with excitement. Bellamy gave Clarke an imperceptible nod of approval and finished the last of his food. He got up and Clarke handed him her tray again without a word shared. Jordan eyed them carefully as she grabbed Bellamy's cup and hers and they cleaned up together.

"You guys remind me of my parents." He said off handily around his last mouthful of food. Clarke and Bellamy froze in place and just slowly turned around to look at him, both with a shocked and confused look on their faces. Jordan looked up chewing and coughed awkwardly in realization that he may have said something he shouldn't. "Oh, um, well. I mean you guys just work well together. Mom and Dad used to clean up the same way."

Bellamy and Clare just looked at each other not sure how to take his bluntness. Bellamy cleared his throat, "Ahhh, okay. Well, I am going to head down to the cryo bay. Clarke, you want to come with me?" Jordan's face fell a little. "Jordan, how about you meet us there? You can grab some clothes for them?" He added with a nod of encouragement.

Jordan's face lit up a bit and he shoveled the last of his food in his mouth nodding as Clarke piped up not thinking, "Slow down Jordan, last thing we need is you choking on your food." This time it was Bellamy and Jordan's turn to look at Clarke who had made the comment in such a parental dead-pan, they were both taken aback.

Clarke looked up at them in the silence realizing what she did and felt her cheeks get immediately hot with embarrassment and both Jordan and Bellamy started laughing at her. "I'm sorry!" Clarke said defensively starting to laugh with them, "Madi used to do that all the time too!" And the laughter seemed to break the ice as Bellamy and Clarke left the mess, leaving Jordan to finish his meal at a more acceptable speed.

Bellamy was still soundlessly laughing as they walked down the hall. "You really are a Momma bear." He teased her as they entered the airlock. Clarke shoved him lightly smiling at their light conversation. They both knew they would have some very hard news to break very soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All rights to CW for everything. I own nothing**

 **Thank you for the amazing reviews! I wasnt sure if I was going to keep going, but I have had such a great response. I'm heading to see family here but hoping to still b able to get a chapter or two out while on vacation so please be patient and keep the reviews coming! It's driving me to write more and the best chapters possible!**

Chapter II

Once Bellamy and Clarke had woken Raven, Shaw, Madi and Indra and they all gathered on the bridge and played the last few messages ending with the shield being lifted to reveal the planet. Raven wept in Shaw's arms as she reacted to Monty's words and the realization that he and Harper hadn't survived. Clarke felt the tears threatening to fall again and Madi hugged her tightly knowing that she must have already seen the message as Bellamy rested a supporting hand on her shoulder.

It was Indra that caused Clarke to shed fresh tears as she bowed her head stated softly, "Yup gonplei ste odon, Monty and Harper." Softly reciting the grounders fairwell, and Clarke hiccuped on a sob that she tried to fight then back, Bellamy squeezing her shoulder tightly. Standing in a corner Jordan remained stoically quiet, letting the tears trickle down his face at such an uncharacteristic show of respect from Indra.

Bellamy cleared his throat, swallowing his own lump of emotions, "So. This is where were are at." He addressed Raven who was wiping her face furiously, and Shaw who was holding Raven for support. "What's our first step?" He put it out to the group.

Shaw piped up first with a brief look at Raven knowing she wasn't quite ready to speak. "We need to do some analysis to make sure this planet can support us. The full crew of the Elegis III all had the genetically modified blood, what did you guys call it? Night-blood?" He looked at Clarke and she recalled the conversation when she was first captured by Diyoza.

"No point in a planet where we can only send two of you." Raven said finally finding her voice. "Another problem might be the Eligis III crew itself." She added voicing something no one seemed to want to raise. "They supposedly got here hundreds of years ago now. What if they have survived, and thrived? We don't need a whole new set of grounders to piss off." She said with a humorless laugh.

It was Madi that surprised them all though, "Clarke, if the environment isn't survivable without being a Natblida," she said using Clarke's nickname for her, "We are going to have to prepare to convert everyone. That will cause problems." Finished looking up at Clarke, Bellamy and Indra with a knowing look.

Clarke placed her hands on the girls shoulders and leaned down a little to look her in the eye, "One problem at a time Madi." But they all were silent with the weight of her comment.

Bellamy put everyone to work and suggested they wake Emori and Jackson next. So that Raven had an extra set of eyes and hands, and they could start Jackson on a possible nightblood issue to stay out in front of the problem.

Clarke sent Madi with Indra to get food, and Jordan, after a few more awkward moments, settled in to help Raven and Shaw as he had learned a lot growing up on the ship about it's systems. Walking with Bellamy to cryo she couldn't help but bring it up and stopped him by placing a hand on his arm as a reflex.

"If we wake Emori and Jackson, we really should wake Murphy and Miller." She said carefully weighing her next words. There was still so much unsaid between them she didn't know quite how to talk to him about some topics.

Bellamy eyed her carefully as she seemed to be wanting to say something more than she did, "Out with it." He said bluntly. They never used to mince words, but things weren't quite the same as before.

Clarke sighed, "Why haven't you suggested Echo?" She rushed out. She wasn't sure if she actually wanted an answer, and she didn't quite know what was going on with her emotions, but it was out there now.

Bellamy shuffled his feet a little, suddenly very conscious of Clarke's hand on his arm still. He honestly wasn't sure if he had an answer to her question. "She is helpful in a lot of ways," he started slowly, not wanting to meet Clarke's eyes. "I know she would want to know about Harper and Montey, but there's not much she can do to help us at this moment." He felt he was being honest with her to a point, but he was still holding back. There was more going on, but he didn't know how to explain that to Clarke.

She nodded slowly and didn't quite buy what he was saying, but really wasn't comfortable enough yet with their relationship to press for the truth. So she let it go as she suddenly realized she still had her hand on his arm and he was intently studying it. "Okay then. Well, let's go wake some more sleepy heads." She said trying to lighten the mood taking her hand away.

Bellamy looked up just in time to catch what he thought was a blush spreading across her cheeks and he was slightly stunned. Clarke blushing….at him….that was something he thought he would never see. He shook his head as she started walking away, "Yeah, let's go wake them up." And he followed her to the cryo chamber slightly baffled at how in the midst of all of this, his mind was choosing to focus on this.

Clarke kept her strides quick enough to stay ahead of Bellamy's long steps until she felt her face cool down. She didn't know what was causing her more inward anxiety at the moment. The fact she had blushed at having contact with him or the fact that she had blushed at all. This was Bellamy after all, her best friend, but for some reason since she heard his voice as she lay at Dyoza's feet there had been something inside of her that was changing.

They reached the cryo chamber and started to wake Emori, Murphy, Jackson and Miller. Before long Madi appeared with Indra carrying clothes for the four. Clarke thanked her and they all went up to the bridge to show the four the video and find out where Jordan, Shaw and Raven had gotten so far.

Emori had to leave the bridge she was sobbing so hard, without finishing the rest of the videos, as soon as Monty said Harper had died, and Raven followed to make sure she was okay. Even Murphy choked up and had tears running down his cheeks as the videos finished. It took everyone a bit to acclimate and update but once they did and Raven came back with Emori, they were able to get further updates.

"We have good news and bad news." Raven said to start things off. "Good news is by all our readings whatever the Eligis III mission did, they made the atmosphere livable for us normal folk." She said looking to Clarke and Madi. "Levels of radiate are on the higher side, but definitely something we can handle being exposed in space as we were."

There was a murmur a of relief that went through the others at that little tidbit of news. "What's the bad news then?" Bellamy asked trying to keep things moving.

Shaw cut in on this one with a frown, "Whatever they did to assist in creating a viable ozone for protection, it has created a very dense layer of something we can't identify in the upper atmosphere." Raven put her hand on his shoulder in support.

"Not for a lack of trying though." She said showing him support.

Jordan leaned back in his chair assuming a very Monty like posture. "This substance is like nothing we have seen, and it is blocking any kind of radio or laser waves. I'm not even positive the shuttles electronics would make it through without you plummeting from the sky."

"Well that would suck. I vote we don't do that option." Murphy chimed in with his dry sarcasm.

"We will keep working the problem. But for now, you guys should get food." Raven said to the four who were just woken up, "Jordan, can you grab us some too and then we all can eat while we work?" She added overly lightly.

Bellamy recognized her tone right away, but Jordan was excited to help out and was already showing Emori, Murphy, Jackson and Miller out the door, chattering at them. "What is it Raven?" He said when the door closed. And he and Clarke rounded the side of the console with Madi and Indra.

"I found another recording." She said lowering her voice. "I think Monty left it for us to find and not Jordan." She said hesitantly.

Clarke swallowed and nodded to Raven to load the video. Montey's aged face appeared on the screen, eye's cloudy and visibly frail.

 _Raven, I am hoping you found this. By now you have figured that I am alone, with everyone asleep. I could have put myself in cryo, but I think I explained that well enough in the other entry. I didn't want to worry about Jordan or you guys finding my body hundreds of years after the fact somewhere on the ship. Harper and I talked about it before she passed and I put her body in cryo. I'm not doing so well guys. Before I can't manage it anymore, I am going to take Harper to an airlock and float us. I didn't want to explain this to Jordan and I figured Raven would find this recording first, hopefully. It's just to hard to outright tell Jordan what I did. Harper and I will be together and that's how we wanted it. We had a good life. Now it's you turn. Do better…..be better._

And with that Monty fumbled with finding the controls obviously having a hard time seeing and shut off the recording.

Raven swiped at fresh tears and looked up at the group. "We will do better." She said softly and the rest of the group nodded in agreement letting the silence say a final goodbye to their friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All rights to CW. i own nothing**

 **Rating of story changed for language and violence as well as the possibility of what I may write coming up**

Chapter III

Since there was no idea of a time line for figuring out how to get through the atmosphere, it was decided, on Madi's direction, to not wake anyone else for the time being. If they were going to be stuck orbiting the planet for a while then, it was best to keep numbers low to reduce the amount of people using the rations the ship had even though there was always the option algae, but no one wanted that. From there, she went about with Jordan figuring out quarters for those awake, making sure no one was put in Monty and Harper's old room, keeping it as they had left it out of respect.

Maintenance, mess hall, and work routines were established with Shaw, Raven, Jordan and Emori having to be told they needed breaks and not to just seclude themselves on the bridge to work. Murphy seemed to only want to contribute with sarcastic comments which hadn't seemed to improve with 125 years of sleep, but when Jordan wasn't on the bridge he seemed to follow Murphy around peppering him with questions about the stories Monty and Harper had told him. He pretended to be annoyed, but it was obvious he enjoyed Jordan's attention.

Clarke and Jackson set up the infirmary and sorted out kits to be prepped for when they were able to safely head down to the surface, while Miller, stayed close all the while keeping an eye on Madi and Indra. He still was loyal to Octavia, but for the time being was content to keeping watch if he needed to report something later when they woke her.

Indra started to train Madi, filling in gaps between the knowledge of the commanders and what Clarke had filled in while raising her. Clarke kept a close eye on the training at first but eventually relaxed as she watched Indra interact with an unlikely amount of patience, kindness and understanding. It seemed that since spending years with Gaia, then almost loosing her, seemed to change her approach to a young commander.

Clarke was walking back to the bridge after checking in on one of Madi's training sessions when she came across Bellamy and Murphy walking the other way. "Where are you two off to?" She asked as there was a level of tension between them that any person could have picked up on.

Murphy just frowned and kept stalking in the direction of the bay they were referring to as the training room. Bellamy stopped briefly, "We need to work out a disagreement." He said simply and smiled knowingly at Clarke.

Clarke broke out into a grin and turned on her heal to trot after Bellamy, "This I have to see." She said with a laugh.

As soon as Bellamy rounded the corner into the training room Murphy pounced with a right hook that connected soundly on Bellamy's jaw, throwing him off balance. Madi yelled but Indra held her off with a hand to the shoulder, "Let them be Heda." As she recognized the two men were working on sorting out an issue.

Clarke danced out of the way, giving Bellamy clearance to stumble out of Murphy's reach as he chuckled wickedly at him. "You sure you want Clarke to see me kick your ass?!" he taunted Bellamy.

Bellamy rubbed his jaw and danced a little rolling his shoulders, "If that happens it will be a miracle. You can't hit worth shit even when it is a sucker punch." And they squared off eyeing each other closely.

Clarke worked her way over to Madi and Indra. "Seems like this isn't the first time?" Indra asked Clarke, eyes not leaving either man as they countered each other.

Clarke shook her head with a soundless laugh, "Nope. But they seemed to have taken it to a new level since being on the ring."

Bellamy faked and dove at Murphy's waist, tackling him to the mats on the floor and Murphy roared in frustration. They rolled around and Murphy connected with a couple of elbows causing Bellamy to let him go and they both got their feet, blood flowing from Bellamy's nose and Murphy smiling widely.

Madi leaned in to Clarke and commented quietly, "Doesn't Murphy realize Bellamy could have taken him at any point?" Clarke let a ghost of a smile flit across her face.

Watching the exchange Clarke became painfully aware of a significant change in Bellamy. He was patient now, even in fighting like this with Murphy, he wasn't humiliating him. He was letting Murphy work out some insecurity that was causing friction in the group by taking the hits. A true leader could see that because of it, there was respect between these two where there had been hatred before.

Murphy took another big swing and Bellamy shifted his weight, dodging with room to spare. He ducked under the arm, taking Murphy's back, wrapping his long arms around in a head lock, slowly applying pressure, cutting off Murphy's air. Murphy flailed and cursed as Bellamy tightened the choke a little further not letting him tuck his chin to get out of his arms.

"Give it up Murphy." Bellamy hissed through clenched teeth as he wobbled against the struggle.

Murphy's swearing increased as his face started to turn purple, eyes widening with the realization he was screwed and Bellamy had won again. Madi took a hesitant step forward and both Clarke and Indra stopped her this time with their arms out blocking her path.

The fight drained out of Murphy as his eyes started to droop and his grasping hands reached up with a reluctant tap out on Bellamy's choking arm. He immediately dropped Murphy in a gasping, coughing heap on the mats heaving with the effort of holding the choke.

"I trust this solves things?" Bellamy huffed out in between labored breaths.

"What….ever….man." Murphy spat back between coughs and gasps face down to the mats not wanting to look up at Indra, Madi and Clarke.

"Madi, let's go get supper. We've done enough training for today anyways." Indra suggested with a grateful nod from Bellamy. And she lead Madi out of the room with a nod back to Bellamy and Clarke.

Bellamy's nose was flowing steadily as he tried to wipe it away on his sleeve. He shook his head at Murphy who was still coughing on the floor and offered him a hand up. Murphy swatted his hand away with a, "Fuck off." To which Bellamy could only reply, "Whatever." As he looked up at Clarke.

"Let's go." She said to Bellamy shaking her head at the both of them and turning to walk out of the room. She felt Bellamy at her elbow and looked up as he tried pinching the bridge of his nose to control the bleeding.

"What?" Bellamy said at her look. "He's gotten much better. I used to have to choke him out completely to get him to stop." To which, Clarke rolled her eyes and huffed.

She lead him into the infirmary where Jackson and Miller were obviously involved in an intense discussion. "We will finish this later." Jackson said cutting off whatever Miller was going to say. "What happened here?" He said looking at Bellamy who was spitting blood in a sink.

"It's all good." Clarke said as they both watched Miller stalk out of the infirmary. "I got this, you go ahead." And she nodded in the direction of Miller. Jackson smiled a thank you and jogged after Miller.

"What do you think that was about?" Clarke voiced as she gather gauze, packing, and an ice pack.

Bellamy shook his head spitting more blood in the sink before he could speak, "Probably about O." He said and sat on the exam bed leaning forward, elbows on his knees, pinching the bridge of his nose, slowing the flow of blood to a trickle.

Clarke went to work putting the ice pack on the back of his neck and checking his nose and cheeks for stability and alignment. "Well, it doesn't look like he broke anything." She said softly. She held his face in her hands, running her thumbs over both cheekbones. She examined him with a critical eye, completely oblivious to the fact she had positioned herself between his legs, inches from his face.

Bellamy took advantage of her focus to really look at her. He hadn't noticed the small changes that had happened over the years. She had small little lines around the edges of her eyes and corners of her mouth from smiling and laughter that had never been there before Madi. Her hair was shorter, in crimped waves with just a slight pink left around her left ear where she had tucked her hair behind as she worked on him. Her figure was a little rounder too, he noticed. Her muscles toned, and fluid from hunting and hiking, not fighting and scrounging for food like they had before.

It had only taken seconds to notice all the little changes that had happened before he noticed a small shift in the air between them. Her movements frozen, hands still holding his face, her blue eyes unsure and guarded. In that one instant he suddenly noticed a whole other set of things. How warm and soft her hands were holding his face, and the heat her body was giving off between his legs.

Clarke had checked the facial bones for stability even though she had been pretty sure Murphy hadn't broken anything, her mind slipping into medical mode to stop the bleeding and treat the injury. It wasn't until she looked up did she realize how Bellamy was studying her. She felt his eyes on her in a way she never had in the past and it made her freeze.

It wasn't just his patience that had changed and it all came to the surface as she froze in that moment. The pokey stubble under her hands in contrast to the soft skin of his cheek bines under her thumbs. The lines on his face and forehead from the weight of leadership alone, being deeper and heavier than she remembered. And the smattering of freckles that were scattered across his nose and cheeks.

Time seemed to stand still, just for a split second, as the tension between them seemed to tighten like a bow and Bellamy realized he was holding his breath and he let it out slowly noticing it move her hair out of the corner of his eye and he couldn't help but look down at her mouth. They had always had a connection before, but this was different. Nothing like he had felt before around her and he didn't know what to do with it. Taking a breath back in, inhaling the smell of her, his eyes fluttered shut and he let her hold his face in her hands as if he was handing over some of the weight he had shouldered for the six years on the ring.

Clarke watched his eyes close as he took a breath in and the lines seemed to soften on his face as the weight of his head in her hands became heavy. He suddenly looked tired, and defeated all at once as if he was handing all his worries to her in one simple gesture. In that single moment, all the pain, and loss between them disappeared and Clarke closed her eyes at the flood of emotion she felt crash over her. Closing her eyes she leaned forward and rested her forehead on his lightly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All rights to CW. I own nothing**

 **Sorry it has taken so long to post. I am on vacation right now with intermittent WiFi. First, thank you so much for the comments! Just wanted to say thank you for the comments and reviews, keep them coming! It pushes me to write the best story possible. Hope this chapter isn't to wordy as I kept writing till I had WiFi access.**

Chapter IV

Everyone seemed to fall into a regular groove waiting for the group to figure out how to break through the dense layer of the atmosphere. Raven had a break through off of one of Jordan's brain storming sessions and they were trying to tweak one of the individual rockets, without anything in it, to see if it would make it through to the surface. Shaw had managed to adjust their sensors to get much clearer readings of the surface environment, but there was still no way to tell if the Eligis III crew had survived, or if there was some other type of civilization. All they were able to tell was the surface was definitely survivable to those who weren't night bloods.

Since Clarke and Bellamy had their "moment" in the infirmary, both had seemed to find multiple ways to keep themselves busy with tasks that kept them apart and Clarke seemed to struggle with the emotions that it seemed to bring to the surface. As a result she was hiding in her room or the infirmary and feeling relatively foolish about the whole thing when the door tone went off. Padding over in bare feet she opened the door to find Madi leaning on the frame.

"I figured I would find you here when you weren't in the infirmary." She said to Clarke and walked into her room. "You feel like telling me what's going on?" She tossed over her shoulder as she flopped down on the bed.

Clarke eyed her and lifting one eyebrow. "Madi! Shoes!" She barked as Madi sheepishly toed off her shoes hanging her feet over the side of the bed as she did, to which Clarke snipped again avoiding the question, "Where do they belong?!"

Madi rolled her eyes and with a huff got up, picked up her shoes and plopped them on the floor by the door. "You're avoiding the question Clarke." She said seamlessly flipping over to her Commander tone of voice before flopping down again on Clarke's bed.

Clarke huffed back at her behavior trying to avoid her gaze. "Nothing's wrong." She said. It wasn't really a lie. Things should be fine, it's just that she hadn't had any time around Bellamy to make sure that they were okay, as it seemed like, in her mind, something had shifted between them.

"You know you can't lie to me right?" Madi said pointedly and picked up the drawing book that Clarke always kept next to her bed and flipped through a few pages.

Clarke walked over and snatched the book from her with a glare. Madi seemed to flip effortlessly between the young girl she raised and the Commander she was chosen to be. "Everything is fine Madi." Clarke insisted, not really sure who she was trying to convince.

Madi eyed Clarke carefully, and decided to let it go for now. She knew something had happened with Bellamy, but until they were ready to talk to each other about things, there was no forcing it. Madi was able to keep the voices of all the Commanders in the back of her mind unless Clarke was around. Then Lexa seemed to be ever present, whispering guidance. It was a confusing mix of Madi's child like love with Lexa's romantic love, and the groups respect for Wanheda all mixed together in her brain.

Lexa knew how Clarke relied on Bellamy in the past and how, when united, they were a force to be reckoned with, but she suspected there could be something deeper and wished for Clarke to find someone she could rely on for more than just leadership support. Madi had also picked up on how Clarke respected and relied on Bellamy over the years she was with her by how he seemed to always be a central character in every story she told, and a lot of the times the hero.

"Was there something else?" Clarke asked breaking through Madi's thoughts. She had seemed a million miles away and Clarke wondered if the other Commanders were filling her thoughts and sat on the bed beside her, wrapping an arm around the girls shoulders. She felt Madi curl in to her side in a familiar way and instantly missed the days when her and Madi were alone in Shallow Valley.

Madi looked up and saw the concern in Clarke's eyes. "I'm okay. I was just thinking." She said reassuring Clarke. Madi realized that since the prison drop ship landed, she hadn't really had much time with Clarke after six years of having her to herself. "Wanna go get supper?" She asked feeling as if she could use a little more one on one time with Clarke.

Clarke smiled feeling Madi's desire to stretch out the moment together. "Sure, my little Natblida." And she leaned her head forward, touching her forehead to the young girls. They both got up, put on their shoes and headed toward the mess. As they rounded the corner Clark ran straight into Murphy's chest.

"Whoa, sorry Murphy." Clarke said as he chuckled and dusted himself of lightly as if she rumpled him.

"No need to get handsy there, Clarke." He said with a wink to which Clarke just rolled her eyes and Madi giggled. "Raven and Emori sent me to fetch you two. I think I was getting in their way." And bowed waving his hand in an overly dramatic fashion in the direction he had just come from with another wink and smile.

"Guess supper will have to wait." Clarke said to Madi with an apologetic shrug of her shoulders and they all walked toward one of the launch bays that Raven was working in while converting the rocket for their test.

Raven, Shaw and Emori had been working on the atmosphere issue for almost two weeks now and hopefully were getting close to a launch time. They had just rounded the corner of the bay doors when they heard a metallic crash followed by Raven yelling, "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me!"

Clarke rushed just a little faster to where she was holding her hand at her work bench, stepping over the wrench that had obviously been thrown in anger across the room. "You okay?" She asked walking cautiously up behind her as she muttered a fresh string of swear words. There were boards covered in math equations and circuit drawings covering one full length of a wall with parts, wires, tools and scrap metal littering her work table.

Raven turned with a scowl on her face and mumbled with a finger in her mouth, "I'm just fine." Before turning back to the part she was working on. "Scratch that, I'll be fine when Shaw gets back with the tool I need." She grumbled to no one in particular.

Madi wandered over to the circuit drawings and started to eye them carefully as Clarke walked to the wrench on the floor and picked it up placing it back on the bench beside Raven. She nodded thanks as Madi asked, "Wouldn't it be more efficient if you bypassed here and here?" pointing to a few places on the diagram.

Murphy started chuckling, "Don't question the master kid." To which, Raven and Clarke both shot him a withering look. He held his hands up in mock surrender, and Raven took a couple steps toward him.

"Don't you have somewhere to scurry off to?" She stated more than asked while flashing him a sarcastic smile and turning to Madi. "You could do that, yes." She replied walking up to the diagram, "But it would create issues here." And she pointed to another section.

Madi frowned at the section Raven pointed to and tilted her head to the one side as if it would make it clearer and Raven launched into an explanation of the circuitry and why she designed it the way she did just as Shaw and Emori came into the bay.

"We weren't gone that long. You replacing me already?" Shaw said walking up behind Raven. He handed her a wrench and placed a light hand on her lower back.

Clarke watched as they chatted with Madi and noticed how Raven looked at Shaw, smiling as he talked, her eyes lighting up when he would look down at her. It was nice to see that look again on her face as she hadn't seen it since she first arrived on Earth and saw Finn.

Emori and Murphy were talking in the doorway in a heated manner. Everyone knew they were having another argument again and it didn't seem to be any better at the moment. "Fine John, just, whatever." Emori said stalking away from him to go to the table with her supplies. He glared at her back and spun on his heal leaving the other way quickly.

Clarke cleared her throat, "Um, Raven, you wanted to see Madi and I?" She asked breaking into their conversation. When they were alone, Clarke had taught Madi everything she knew about electronics, which was a small fraction of what Raven knew, but the girl seemed to have a natural affinity for it and seemed to figure out a lot more on her own that Clarke could understand and it was nice having more people to teach Madi in other ways.

Raven and Shaw turned, almost as if they had forgotten Clarke was there, "Oh, yeah." She said walking over to the table and grabbing her portable tablet. "Bellamy and Indra should be here soon. They were supposedly training when I sent Murphy to get you all." As she said that Bellamy, Indra, Jackson, Miller and Murphy walked into the bay.

"Perfect timing." Shaw said as the group arrived. He moved with Raven to a larger screen and keyed up the image on that had been on Raven's pad. It was a schematic for the rocket they were building in impressive detail and started to go through their briefing.

They had managed to find a way to insulate the circuitry in such a way they were hoping the charged layer of the atmosphere wouldn't effect the key circuits. If it worked, then they would have to retro-fit the shuttles key systems before they would be able to possibly send a team to the surface and they estimated that could take almost a month to retro-fit. Their test rocket was almost finished, but would still take a few more days to complete for testing.

Madi chimed in a response as she had been monitoring the food situation, "As long as we don't add any more bodies out of cryo we should be able to keep going like this for at least eight months, so that should give you guys some breathing room if your plan for insulation doesn't work. After that we will have to rely on Monty's algae farm."

Immediately Murphy chimed in a, "Oh, hell no," to which Raven, Bellamy, and Emori chuckled and nodded their heads in agreement with his sentiment.

"Is there anything we can start to retro-fit on the shuttles that wouldn't be dependent on the test rocket's results?" Bellamy asked hopefully.

Raven shook her head and both Shaw and Emori faces clouded over, "Unfortunately not, as we have no actual idea as to how this layer will effect the systems. We are making our best guess for now." Everyone noted the frustration in Raven's tone as she spoke.

"I know you guys are doing everything you can. You will figure it out." Clarke said in support.

"I guess for now it's status quo for at least a few days till the rocket is finished." Madi said which effectively adjourned the update meeting and everyone seemed to trickle out of the work bay.

Murphy ducked out quickly followed by Jackson and Miller, as Clarke was waiting in the doorway for Madi hoping to still have supper with her when Bellamy walked up. "You eaten yet?" He asked appearing slightly uncomfortable shuffling his feet.

Clarke glanced over to Madi who was looking busy with Raven and the others while they seemed to be explaining the rocket to Indra. "I was going to go with Madi but it seems she is busy." She said honestly, adding, "But we can go."

As Clarke and Bellamy left the bay Madi glanced up with a lopsided grin in their direction. She had seen Clarke waiting, but figured her and Bellamy needed to talk whatever was going on out more, than she needed supper with Clarke.

Clarke walked in silence the length of the hall towards the mess. She couldn't figure out when things got so different, or how they got so different between her and Bellamy, but it was like six years was stretched out between them and they were struggling to find each other again.

A thought struck her, "Was this what it was like?" She asked at the same time as he said, "So, another month like this…" they both chuckled, and Bellamy responded first, "Sorry, what did you ask me?"

She slowed her pace and peaked out sideways at him, "Was this what it was like," she repeated, "on the ring?" clarifying her original question.

Bellamy looked at her surprised by the question, and matched her slower pace as they walked into the empty mess hall. He thought carefully about her question and immediately he went to the grieving he had done at the thought of her death. "Sort of, I guess." And then tried to hide his emotions by adding, "But much better food." With a grin he picked up the food tray and selected some ration packs.

Clarke smiled at the reference to Monty's algae farm that they had solely lived off of for the full six years. "That really must have sucked." She looked up at him and caught his eye as she grabbed her food, setting it on her tray.

His whole body seemed to relax as they shared a laugh and he looked at her. This was where he was comfortable and they were just needing to find their rhythm again, but a thought plagued him about their conversation. "What was it like for you?" He asked as he watched her face cloud over and she looked down at her food. It was a tell tale sign that she was trying to hide something from him. He figured it was about the radio calls, but he wanted her to tell him for some reason.

She walked over to a table and sat as he followed shortly behind her. She figured they would cover this at some point, but even with that knowledge she wasn't quite sure how to tell him without him feeling guilty. "Do you really want to know?" She asked still staring at her food. She dared to look up and found him studying her expression with a guarded look and his face darkened with her question.

Bellamy didn't know how to answer to her question. He had always known she had a deep rooted strength inside her, but he had been able to piece together enough to figure that Clarke hadn't found Madi for quite a while after he left her for dead and he wanted to know, he needed to know how she survived. He nodded slowly looking her in the eye so she knew he was serious.

Clarke set her look with resolve, "You did what you needed to do when you took off." And emphasized her next words clearly by reaching across the table, taking his hand. "You made the right choice, the only choice, and I was so relieved to see the rocket take off." Her voice cracking with emotion as she said it.

He looked away, eyes filling with tears, swallowing a lump in his throat. There was so much they hadn't had time to talk about since they were reunited. "I didn't know you were alive, I could have never thought it was possible."

She cleared her throat, and pulled back her hand realizing she was still holding his. "It took me 42 days to be able to heal enough that I could get out of Becca's lab, and I thought I would have to swim to where we left the rover, but, well, that wasn't the case." She shrugged her shoulders a little and caught his eye with a bit of a grin. He was looking intently at her waiting for her to continue. "I was lucky to find the rover. It had been totally buried , so that was all kinds of fun." And she chuckled sarcastically.

Bellamy shook his head with a smile, "You still have a different idea of fun than I do it seems." As the mood seemed a little lighter he settled in to hear what she had to say as they ate.

Clarke relaxed a little as she watched him start to eat. She had thought it was going to be hard telling him about her time alone, and there were hard moments coming to explain, but once she started it seemed to flow easily as she talked. She described the storms and trying to dig out Polis, then realizing she wasn't going to get in and making the tough decision to find food elsewhere. By then they were both leaning against the backs of their chairs drinking cups of coffee, which had almost instantly become each person's favorite drink.

Clarke grew quiet for a few moments as she got to her time just before finding Shallow Valley, unsure of if she actually wanted to tell the next part. She looked up at Bellamy across from her, sipping his coffee, relaxed, her mind briefly wandering to the thought of if they had never gone down to Earth and stayed on the station, if this would have been what he was like. Then she noticed the scar on his cheek from when Octavia attacked him, the light line on his lip from when he was attacked by a grounder, scars across his hands and knuckles as he held his cup from all the battles and fights and she knew he wouldn't have been the same.

Bellamy was staring into his cup and wondering why Clarke hadn't mentioned the radio calls as she told him about her time before Madi. Looking up she had a far away look in her eyes as she seemed to be looking at his hands. He was about to give in to his curiosity about the radio calls when Madi and Indra came into the mess, deep in discussion about some kind of training session.

Clarke sat up a bit straighter as Madi and Indra walked over. "Sorry, I didn't wait for you." She said immediately feeling guilty for eating without Madi.

Madi smiled brightly as she took note of the lighter mood between Clarke and Bellamy, "It's okay Clarke, I wanted to make sure Indra understood the plan as this technology is still pretty new to her." Madi said and Indra stood solemnly behind her. "We were actually going to grab a quick bite then go do some training, would you guys like to come? You haven't spared in a while Clarke?"

Indra's gaze slid over to Clarke and assessed her for a moment, "We don't know what we may come up against, we should make sure everyone's skills are sharp." She stated not even bothering to glance at Bellamy when she said it.

Bellamy chuckled with his head ducked and Clarke kicked him under the table, getting grunt for her well placed boot to his shin, "Indra, that's a very smart idea. We can all go." As she looked pointedly at Bellamy and got up from the table with her tray and cup, putting them away.

Just as Bellamy got up to follow her Jordan's voice came over the speaker, "Everyone needs to get to the bridge now." He said, his voice filled with concern. Bellamy looked to Clarke immediately, setting his tray down and they all broke out into a quick jog in the direction of the bridge.

When they got there the others were already standing with Jordan looking at one of the console displays. "Okay, I have been playing with the communications frequencies, trying to see if there was any way to tell if their were any signs of communication on the ground when I found this," He said, not wasting any time in his explanation and then flipped a switch for the speaker system.

" _To Command on Earth, if you can read this transmission, this is the surviving crew of the Eligis III mission. After successful implementation of the experimental terraforming rockets, we attempted to land for survey purposes, but lost all power in the atmosphere and crashed at the base of a mountain range. We have suffered significant casualties and have very little supplies. There is a flaw in the terraforming process."_

The transmission became inaudible for a brief moment then continued.

" _We need a help. Send supplies to coordinates provided. Do not attempt entry, I repeat, do not attempt entry."_

After that the transmission cut out and then looped back to the beginning. Everyone stared at the console and Jordan stated, "There were people down there at some point."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Nothing new...I still own nothing and all rights go to CW**

 **I am back from a much needed vacay so hopefully I can post chapters a little more regularly depending on my work load. Thank you for all the reviews and although I havent changed previous chapters I hope my OCD readers are happy ? Please keep the reviews coming as they push me to develop and write more !**

Chapter V

The radio transmission seemed to motivate everyone into high gear. Jordan was spending all his time on the bridge to the point of becoming obsessive, attempting to work the communication systems so that they could send or receive any messages. He had finally gotten it to the point he was sending, so he said, but there were no detectable messages coming back, or anywhere on the planet that he was able to find. Clarke found him on the bridge as Raven had asked her to go talk to him about easing off a little and getting some sleep.

"How's it going Jordan?" She asked taking note of the food trays piling up with the coffee cups around on the flat surfaces.

Jordan barely glanced up from the console he was staring at. "Nothing new to report. I'm working on a new modulation to try a separate area I missed on the last sweep." He felt if he could just contact someone, then they would know that their message had been received.

Clarke put a hand on his shoulder, startling him, "You know, the person who sent that message is long gone." She said hoping to break through to him and get him talking, instead she felt him stiffen under her hand.

"You don't think I don't know that?" He snapped back with an irritated tone and looked up at her with glazed, tired eyes.

Her expression softened and she sat on the edge of the seat across from him as he turned back to the console, "Jordan, what's really going on here?" She asked quietly as he rubbed his tired eyes and peered close to the screen.

He paused his calculations and slowly looked up at Clarke, "There were people down there Clarke. People that thought they were just left alone." He started slowly not looking up at her as he spoke. "My Dad worked to bring us here till it literally killed him, and all we can do is hover around the planet." His eyes started to fill up with tears and his voice cracked with emotion.

It started to dawn on Clarke the enormity of how it must have felt to Jordan to seem as if is farther single handedly saved them all and come so close and now they were just out of reach of the beautiful planet before them. "We still have hope, Jordan. We are still breathing." She said using the words of support Bellamy gave to her when she felt all was lost. "Raven, Shaw and you will figure this out. I know you will, but to do that, you need to get some sleep." And she leaned forward and rested her hand on his.

Jordan looked at Clarke's hand with slight wonder. All these people were still so surprising to him as the stories his mother and father told him suddenly had become reality and he let his gaze drift to her face. She was looking at him with the same concern his mother used to get when he got focused on a problem and wouldn't let it go and it caused him to take a look around the bridge and sigh. "You're right." He said, now feeling embarrassed at his behavior.

Clarke let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. Jordan was a complete mystery to her in his personality and yet she was made responsible for him by his parents in what could be an incredibly dangerous venture on a new planet. She rose, still holding his hand, bringing him up with her, "Come on, go get some sleep. I will clean up and come get you in a few hours to keep working. If anything comes across the radio, I will get you right away. Deal?" She asked raising her eyebrows with the question.

All Jordan could do was focus on her hand holding his as she lead him to the door of the bridge and nod to whatever it was that she was saying. With a yawn he realized how right she was and it finally registered what she had said walking him to the door. The fatigue was setting in and he felt stoned, as if he was sleep walking already now that he was away from the screen and he heard himself mumble, "Okay mom…." As he plodded off in the direction of his bunk.

The words hit Clarke right to her core as she watched him walk away, shoulders slumped with the weight of his fatigue. He felt responsible to finish what his father started by getting them to the surface and also hadn't had much time to deal with the fact he went to sleep and woke up to both his parents, the only people he had ever had contact with, gone. Tears welled in her eyes and she turned back to the bridge and started cleaning up trays.

Once Clarke was done cleaning up the bridge, making trips back to the mess, she cleaned up all the dishes in the mess then went back to the bridge. She sat down at the console and looked at what Jordan had been working on. She had learned communication basics living on the Arc, and had learned lots over the years on the ground so she started trying to modulate from where Jordan had left off.

She was so focused on her calculations and the screen she didn't notice when someone was right beside her. Clarke looked up to see Indra standing over her and she started with a little yelp. "You scared me Indra. Can I help you?" She said breathlessly, her heart pounding.

Indra sat in the empty chair with a shake of her head. "I have been wondered why you chose to wake me when Gaia would have been more suited to teach Heda." She asked in a soft voice uncharacteristically unsure.

Clarke actually found herself laughing silently at her question, "After all we have been through, I trust you." She said looking at the woman in the eye. "You have a calm head when needed, a reasonable mind when things get crazy, and, well, you aren't a fanatic." She finished, to tired to be anything but blunt.

Indra nodded slowly as she mulled over what Clarke said, "You have done well in teaching her so far." She said getting up to leave now that her question was answered.

She looked up a little surprised and saw a wistful look cross Indra's face. "Gaia will be glad you have stepped in to teach Madi when we wake her." She felt that Indra had come in looking to say something more, but wasn't ready to voice anything more than what she did. And with a curt nod she left Clarke alone on the bridge again.

Relatively speaking, it was late and Clarke was getting tired as she had been up for almost 16 hours and spent the last 3 of them trying to build on Jordan's work for communication to the surface. She leaned back in the seat to stretch out and tilted her head back a bit. Her neck hurt from looking over the screen and her head had a dull ache making its way behind her eyes so she closed them briefly to relieve some of the strain. The next thing she knew she was drifting off to the sound of the static coming across the speakers softly as if it were background white noise with its irregular breaks and pops until something played on the edge of her brain and she snapped up awake.

The irregular breaks and pops she was hearing in the midst of the rest of the static wasn't irregular at all. There was a pattern to them that repeated every minute and a half or so and it took Clarke's brain almost being asleep to recognise it. She cranked the volume and started to record the static and closed her eyes listening hard for the loop to go through a couple times before stopping the recording. Then she turned off the speakers and began running the sounds through the ships audio programs to filter out the noise she didn't want, until all she had was the noise she did want. As soon as she was done she stared down at the screen in amazement, turned and took off running to the crew quarters when she had sent Jordan.

Jordan drifted to consciousness vaguely recognizing a regular tone and pounding as he slowly came around. As soon as he was able to open his eyes he realized that the pounding and tone was coming from his door and he snapped awake struggling to unwrap his legs from the sheets before falling out of the bed to the floor as he yelled at the door he was coming. Tripping again just as he got up, he reached to the door lock and slammed into the door frame as it slid open and he tumbled to the ground at Clarke's feet in his underwear, the sheet tangled around his feet and ankles.

Clarke stumbled back out of his way with a yelp and covered her mouth to suppress a laugh as he looked up beat red with embarrassment. "Oh my God…." Was all she could get out as she laughed then turned around to spare him further, as he scrambled to cover himself.

Jordan finally managed to get himself covered and upright. "Sorry, sorry…" was all he could mumble as she turned around. His face felt on fire with the blush he had going and he clutched at the sheet as if it was his life line. "Uh, wha, what time is it?" He said grasping for anything other than what was happening at this moment.

"Get dressed." Clarke smirked, "You need to come to the bridge, I found something." And she turned on her heal walking as fast as she could to the bridge barely containing her laughter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Do I need to say it?**

 **Thank you to all who have reviewed and given me feedback! I have gone over all my previous chapters and corrected things according to comments. Hope you like this chapter! Please, keep the comments coming! They are helping me so much and I want to write the best story possible! More to come soon!**

Chapter VI

Jordan dressed and jogged to the bridge as fast as he could even though he could still feel the heat in his cheeks from falling at Clarke's feet in his underwear. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to look her in the eye but, he was more curious as to what she found that had her pounding on the door than him falling out of it. When he arrived on the bridge she had the radio static he had been listening to for days, cranked to almost ear cringing levels, and she was bent over the console working on something.

"Good, you're here!" she said raising her voice a little over the noise and waving him over, all awkwardness from earlier gone. "Okay, sit and close your eyes." And she taking his shoulders and shoving him down in a seat. Turning, she turned off the unfiltered static that was blasting over the speaker, looked back at him to make sure he had his eyes closed and then turned on her filtered version of the static.

Jordan thought it was just more static he was hearing, but as Clarke continued the recording after a few minutes his brain clued into the pattern:

Short, long, long, pause, short

Short, long, pause, short, long, short, pause, short

Short, short, short, short, pause, short, pause, short, long, short, pause, short

Then the pattern would repeat again from the beginning and continue endlessly.

Clarke watched his face as the realization of the pattern dawned and his eyes snapped open. She grinned at his stunned look, "You hear it don't you?!" She asked excitedly.

Jordan closed his eyes in wonder. "What is that? What does it mean?" He said keeping his eyes closed and starting to tap out the pattern on the console. "There's an obvious pattern repeating, but how, why?" and he looked up at Clarke.

She shook her head at him as something stirred in her memory that felt like she should know what this meant. She closed her eyes and listened as hard as she could trying to will the memory to the surface but it was always just out of reach. "Argh! I feel like I should know this!" she voiced out loud, frustration raising her voice.

"This is hunters code." Indra said walking onto the bridge with Madi and all eyes turned to stare at her. "This is how Trikru would communicate on a hunt." She explained surprised that none of them knew this.

Clarke couldn't help but feel her mouth hang open in surprise and the memory snapped to the surface. "Pike! I should have remembered!" she blurted out in realization.

"What does this have to do with him?" Indra spat out in a snarl. She hated the man that slaughtered so many and nearly took her life.

Clarke corrected herself quickly, "Not him exactly, as he taught a class on Earth skills and he talked about a code, a morse code that was used on Earth in very early days." She said by way of explanation and watched Indra relax a bit.

"Indra's right. It's Trikru, but I don't understand the sequence when it's slow." Madi said with her eyes closed tapping into the other Commanders. "Clarke can you speed it up?" she added opening here eyes looking at Clarke.

Clarke sat quickly at the console and started adjusting things and the rhythm picked up over the speakers till she heard Madi say, "There!" and she stopped the increase and left it playing.

"No…..way!" Madi said as only a young child could. Everyone looked at her expectantly as she grinned and nearly started bouncing with excitement. "The code is saying, We are here."

Everyone stared at Madi for a second or two processing what she had just said before Jordan flipped the switch to the ship wide speakers and told everyone else to get to the bridge.

It didn't take long for the others to arrive and Jordan to explain what he and Clarke had found with Madi's translation. Clarke was leaning against a bulk head, trying to stay awake as he talked. She had been up for the last 18 hours and the adrenaline of finding the message was wearing off. She was starting to get cold, and had the shivers. She was so tired and she hadn't heard Bellamy come up behind her when he draped his sweater over her shoulders. She started a bit as he positioned it a little, moving the hair that got trapped under the bunched up hood, fingers brushing lightly across the skin at the base of her neck. The shiver that followed felt much different than the ones she was having due to being cold.

Bellamy couldn't help but notice Clarke as Jordan talked. Her arms were wrapped around herself, she looked pale, with shivers and goosebumps visible on her arms even being a few feet away from her. He couldn't seem to focus on what Jordan was saying and finally slipped around the back of the gathered group and out of his hooded jacket. He wrapped it over Clarke's shoulders feeling her jump under his hands. Before he even realized he was doing it his fingers were in her hair, and brushing against the warm skin on her neck as he moved the hood. It was like a jolt went through him and he frowned at his traitorous fingers for the reaction, stepping back from her and focusing again on what Jordan was saying.

Jordan was talking a mile a minute showing Raven, Shaw and Emori, specifically what Clarke had done to isolate the frequency. Jackson and Miller were talking in hushed tones in the corner a Murphy hovered around Emori in a wide orbit trying to appear uninterested in what they were doing while Madi and Indra were discussing the best message to send back.

"At least we can have some kind of communication." Raven said as she tapped her finger on the console. She tended to tap when she was calculating or working through a problem, which lead to her working alone or only with Shaw as it didn't seem to bother him as much as it did the others.

"We should be able to launch the probe in a couple hours, so maybe we should try to aim for somewhere over the area you were scanning when you found the signal?" Shaw said and reached over, taking Ravens tapping hand in his to spare the group her incessant tapping.

"Can we send a message back out?" Madi asked looking at Jordan first then noticing Clarke huddled in an oversized sweater with Bellamy hovering close by her.

"I would assume from the nature of their response they can hear our transmission, but this is their only method of communication back on their end, so I don't see why we would have to answer back the same way." Clarke remarked and Jordan nodded in agreement.

"Maybe we should just ask where they are." Murphy said to everyone's surprise. They all looked over at him as conversation stopped. "What?! I just thought if we're sending a rocket down it would be good to know where they are so we don't accidently, you know, blow something up. That would kind of bite, for starting peacefully." He said with a shrug of his shoulders like it was no big deal.

Indra nodded adding, "And explain what we are doing too." The group all went quiet and thoughtful about how their actions could appear.

Jordan sat down at the console saying, "This may take a while. Raven, get the probe done and let me know so I can work out a trajectory pattern." His head already bent, eyes focused solely on his task.

Madi walked over to Clarke and Bellamy, "This will take a few hours and Indra and I should stay to translate any response. Bellamy, could you make sure Clarke goes and gets some sleep?" She finished looking pointedly at Bellamy and ignoring the dirty look she got from Clarke. Madi knew that Clarke always had difficulties sleeping, especially of late, and she looked like she was going to drop at any point.

Clarke glared at Madi feeling as if the girl seemed to constantly be meddling in matters she couldn't understand, even with the Commanders in her head. "I will get some rest in a bit. I need to talk to Jackson and Millar first." She said to Madi turning on her Momma Bear tone, then turned to look at Bellamy, "And I don't need a chaperone to make sure I get to my room." She huffed as Bellamy smirked at her. She stormed off to where Jackson and Miller were talking to ask them to prep kits with medicine and immunizations so that they could help if needed and not end up exposing those on the ground to any foreign disease.

Bellamy watched Clarke stock off and then back to Madi, the smile slipping a little as he saw the look on her face. "You are concerned about her aren't you?" He asked recognizing her look as the same one Clarke would wear.

"She doesn't talk about it, but she doesn't sleep well after everything, one hundred and twenty-five years not included." Madi said watching Clarke. "She has nightmares." Was all Madi was going to tell him about this one. She had learned not to try to comfort Clarke when she would be in the middle of a nightmare. She would just let her wake up, scared, ready to fight, and drenched in sweat. Then, when she came to focus, would get her water and a cloth and a cup of tea to sooth her back into a relaxed place.

Bellamy looked over at Clarke, his brow pinching together a little, "I will make sure she goes to get some sleep when she is done." And he looked down at Madi who looked up at him, giving him a nod of her head and tight smile of thanks before she turned back to were Jordan was working on the communication with Indra at his side.

Raven, Shaw, and Emori were talking animatedly as they were about to head back to the bay to finish there work when Emori turned back to Murphy. Without a word she walked over to him, stretched up and kissed his cheek as he looked at her trying to cover his surprise. "Come on John." She said turned back to leave, "You could probably give us a hand moving something heavy." She said over her shoulder and he smiled shaking his head and jogged after the trio.

Bellamy watched them go and huffed out a chuckle as he noticed Jackson and Miller were leaving too and he walked over to Clarke. She had tucked her hands into the long arms of the sweater and was hugging it around her again. "Why don't we get you some tea?" He said as he approached her.

"I said I could find my own way, thank you." She snipped back slightly harsher than she actually meant to and she watched Bellamy's eyebrows rise up and he raised his hands in mock defence. She sighed and chastised herself for being so bitchy, "Sorry. I guess I could use some tea." And she offered an apologetic smile to go with a repentant look.

Bellamy took note of the dark bags under her eyes as he smiled back at her apology. She turned to leave and he found himself reaching out to place a hand on the small of her back as she did, keeping it there while they walked. He felt her naturally tilt her upper body into his side and he slid his hand around the side of her ribs pulling her close to offer her support and heat.

He reluctantly pulled his arm away to pour her the largest mug of tea he could find and handed to her with a laugh as she accepted it with her hands still in the sleeves of the sweater and nearly curled her full upper body around the opening of the mug with a happy little sigh. "Let's go." He said lightly.

"You laugh more now." Clarke said abruptly, surprised the words came out of her mouth. She must have been way over tired. They walked slowly so she didn't spill her tea.

Bellamy looked over at her as they walked and mulled over what she said. "I sure didn't laugh the first year or so we were on the ring. Every day seemed like I was doing the wrong thing and I felt like I was going to let you down."

Clarke looked up at him in surprise as it was a rare moment of him telling her his feelings. Normally he gave short answers that never really actually answered what she had asked him. "Why would you have let me down?" She asked quietly, wanting to know more, but not pushing to much.

He didn't know what it was about Clarke but she seemed to have this presence around him. Even in the early days on the ground he could let his guard down and tell her his feelings. He felt safe to do that with her like now, although it had taken them a bit to get back to this place. "I thought you had died. And I felt it was up to me to make sure we survived because of that sacrifice. Raven helped, and we became a good team, but….." He said struggling to explain the next part clearly.

Clarke just waited hugging her mug and trying not to spill and peeking up at him when she could as they walked slowly to her room. She had thought he was going to say Echo helped him and was mildly curious as to how they ended up involved after she tried to kill Octavia, but a slight slosh of her cup caused her to shift her focus back on what she was doing.

"I guess Jaha put it the best." He finally said causing Clarke to stop abruptly and look at him. And he stopped with her, meeting her stare. "He said leadership was lonely and that I kept you centered. I told him he had it backwards."

Clarke shook her head in disbelief at his words then started to blush with realization of how important his words were and she ducked her head over her mug again saying quietly, "I think he had it pretty right to start with."

Bellamy watched her closely for a minute as he noticed a few other changes. She had lost some of her confidence over the years of making impossible decisions and it left her vulnerable, not just when she closed her eyes to sleep. He cleared his throat breaking the moment and said, "Come on, I told Madi I would get you to your room."

Clarke looked up and just rolled her eyes at him just before a yawn overtook her and she shifted the mug balancing it on one sleeve covered hand to cover her gaping mouth with the other. To her further embarrassment he started chuckling and added a teasingly, "Let's go princess." She couldn't remember the last time he called her that, but it seemed so fitting as they walked the last length of hallway to her room and stopped at her door. She had finished most of her tea and her eyes were starting to droop as they came to a stop at her door. She opened her door walking in without even thinking, as if on autopilot, crossed the room setting the mug on her side table next to her drawing book and flopped onto her bed rolling on her side facing the door in a fetal position, her eyes closed almost before she hit the pillow.

Bellamy stood at the entrance of her quarters and suddenly hesitated. He didn't know if he should follow her or back off and let the door close. As he weighed his options he glanced around the room briefly before letting his gaze fall back on her drifting off to sleep. She stirred a little with another slight shiver and hugged her arms closer into her chest. Before it register he stepped into the room hearing the door hiss closed behind him and he walked to the bed.

He carefully slipped off her shoes, putting them by the door, then went back and slid the folded blanket from the end of the bed out from under her feet, letting the soft material unfold as he slowly draped it over her and tucked the corners around her shoulders. Her hair had fallen across her face and he smoothed it away behind her ear gently. Crouching down on his haunches he just took the sight of her in for a moment, resting his elbows on knees and folding his fingers together propping his chin up. Suddenly, in the moment, he didn't trust his hands not to gently keep stroking her hair. All the strain and worry seemed gone from her face and she suddenly looked barely a day older than she first did when she ordered him not to open the drop ship door and he smiled at the memory.

Sighing, he got up and glanced over at her drawing book, pages peaking out the edges and charcoal smudges over most of the cover. Somethings never changed about her, no matter how much time had passed and he moved to leave, turning out the couple lights as he went and slipped out the door. As he was walking away from her door a curious thought struck him. Her quarters where down a hall away from everyone else, as they all had their rooms over one, no, wait, two corridors. They had been talking so much he hadn't realized how far they actually walked, but he had always assumed her room was at the end of the hall where everyone else was, and then started to wonder why she had done that when he heard a heart stopping scream, partly muffled from the direction of where he left her.

Turning around instantly he took off running back to her room. As he got closer he could hear her sobbing and begging someone, "Please, please don't, I will do anything. I shouldn't have, I'm sorry!" And he keyed open the door stopping instantly to see her laying on the bed, tangled in the blanket, eyes closed in the throws of a nightmare, tears streaming down her cheeks. He instantly forgot everything else and rushed to the bedside, scooping her up in his arms trying to hush her.

Caught in the horrifying struggle in her dream Clarke bucket in Bellamy's arms crying out, "Oh God! NO! BELLAMY NO!" Voice cracking in anguish.

Bellamy's heart broke in that moment, "Clarke, wake up! I have you! It's just a dream!" he said raising his voice a little to break through the fear. To his relief her eyes opened, but weren't yet seeing him in reality. Her had reached up to his face as her thrashing stilled, but the tears still flowed.

"Please," she begged softly. "Please don't leave me. I'm sorry I left you here. I shouldn't have." And she cried hiccupping sobs as she stroked his face gently.

He had seen that look on her face before when she killed Adam in the woods and when she turned around after killing Finn. It was the look of loss as she stayed with someone at the end. Her nightmare was watching him die because of her and his heart shattered further as he hugged her to his chest, tears of his own threatening to fall.

Clarke slowly felt things shift in her sight as the bowels of Polis slowly started to melt and the walls of her quarters started to come into view and she became confused. She was tightly bound and started to struggle as she heard Bellamy's voice far off in the distance. She focused on what it was saying as it became louder and more clear in her ear, "You are okay. I'm okay. Clarke, wake up." She started to blink, her breathing slowed back to normal with her heart rate. Her senses were filled with the warmth of a body held against her and a familiar smell that told her exactly who she was against. Bellamy.

She pushed back against him eyes wide with desperation as she padded down his chest, stomach and left side as if looking for the mortal injury he had sustained in her dream, then looked up at him in wonder. "You're okay?!" she barely whispered. Then stated, "It was a dream."

Bellamy looked relieved and very concerned, and reached up, wiping the last of the tears off her cheeks nodding, "Yes. Just a dream. I'm okay." His other arm still encircled her and she was practically in his lap as he rubbed her back gently.

Clarke became acutely aware that she was no longer cold, and that he was holding her very, very close. She swallowed slowly and inched back from him, feeling the heat radiate through his cotton shirt under her hands. She moved her hands to his chest for leverage to move back from him further and felt his heart nearly slam against her palm and she looked down at her hand frozen.

Bellamy stilled with her movement feeling his heart rate pick up watching her look down at her hand on his chest. His breathing picked up as he could feel the warmth of her hand on his chest and the tightening in his stomach as he realized she was feeling all that under her hand.

Clarke slowly lifted her head meeting his eyes with confusion, wonder, and apprehension. "Bellamy….." She started, barely audible. She didn't know what to say, or how not to break this moment as she was stunned by the fact that she didn't want it to end.

His eyes closed and he let go the breath he was holding and lowered his head letting her go, bringing his hands to his to rest on the bed on either side of him. In that moment he knew that if there truly was something more between them than just being friends, he owed it to himself and Echo to close things properly regardless of how she left things before they went into cryo.

Clarke felt the shift in the air between them. He opened his eyes to meet hers and there was a resolve that wasn't there before. She leaned back and removed her hand from his chest, inching back so her back was against the wall.

"Clarke….I….." He said looking down at his hands that he had brought to his lap. He didn't know what to say, or how to describe what was going on inside of him, let alone say it out loud, especially if she wasn't feeling the change in their relationship in the same way he was.

"I'm sorry." She said shifting the conversation to something other than what he was trying to tell her. She didn't want to hear that he wanted to just be her friend, or that he loved Echo, and she didn't want him to see that pulling back hurt her feelings. She saw his head lift as he looked at her, trying to gauge her reaction so she covered by stating, "I get bad dreams. Madi discovered that early on. I'm sorry you had to see that." And brought her knees to her chest, hugging them.

He nodded slowly and moved to the edge of the bed to get up, thankful he didn't say any more than he did. "Yeah, I got that. I don't sleep overly well myself." And he stood up to leave. "I will let you try to rest a bit more." And he moved towards the door.

"Bellamy?" Clarke said in an urgent tone causing him to turn around. "Thanks…..for waking me." She said weakly feeling even worse now than when she did before she went to sleep.

He smiled at her, finally meeting her eyes, "Anytime. Try to sleep. I will come get you when they are done and ready to test the probe." He said and turned back to leave.

Clarke let him leave and laid back down, knowing she was done with sleep for the night as she hugged Bellamy's sweater around her, breathing in his scent.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: All rights to CW...blah, blah...**

 **This chapter was a struggle...I wrote it, deleted, then rewrote at least twice. It's not quite how I pictured it in my head, but I hope it translates. Please let me know! I am a review-aholic! Thanks for everyones love! I promise, there is some good stuff coming up!**

Chapter VII

Clarke lay in bed, not moving and just breathed in the scent of Bellamy lingering on his sweater as she hugged it around herself. She was trying to figure out just when everything got so complicated between them, and when he stopped seeming like her best friend and was more, so much more to her. Six years she had talked on that radio to him every day and six years she never pictured that he would have changed, or grown, or fallen for someone else. Even when she saw him standing in the doorway of her cell and he ran to her, that's how she saw him. As the boy who held her as she cried because she didn't get to say goodbye to her mother, not the man who had moved on.

It wasn't until she saw Echo run into his arms at Polis did it hit her that the boy she knew, and even may have fantasized a time or two about over those six years was just that. A fantasy she had made up. And since she was being honest with herself, that hurt was part of the reason she left him in Polis to begin with, part of the driving force behind making such a huge mistake. And now, here she was, alone, clutching his sweater after having two very close encounters with him, and each time, he had pulled away. It was probably fair, she mused. For years, Lexa, Octavia, even her Mother had implied he had feelings for her that went beyond friendship, yet she turned a blind eye and told herself that love was a weakness and kept him at arms length because everyone she had ever loved died.

She rolled on her back and sighed, closing her eyes. She focused on her breathing and how the smell of him seemed to wrap around her, like his arms had, making her feel safe and calm and before she even realized it, she slid into a peaceful sleep.

Bellamy only made it to the end of the hall before he stopped and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He was trying to wrap his mind around everything that had happened since he woke up between him and Clarke. For years, YEARS, he had cared for her more than just a friend, but he always knew she didn't feel that way, and after she left because of Mount Weather, then killing Finn…..He knew that having her in his life as a friend was how they needed to be, and he accepted it, even grew to care for her in a deeper way. It was why thinking she had died nearly crushed him and it took him three years before he saw Echo in a different way.

Oh God, Echo. He thought as he paced the opening of the hall. As long as he stayed in the hall where Clarke's room was he knew he wouldn't be bothered and he sat down at the end of the hall against the wall and put his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair. He didn't even know when things changed between him and Echo either. One minute they were cohabiting on the ring, relying on each other for survival, a family, and the next thing they were sparing and he had pinned her on the ground after a throw and found himself kissing her. At first it was just that. And both were very clear as to what they were wanting from each other, but then came the day he knew it was more.

Even when she left to bring down the Eye, posing as a spy, it nearly killed him with worry, yet, they never said the words. Those three little words that seemed to elude him with Echo. It's not that he didn't care deeply for her, but they both agreed to never lie to one another and he never told her because he was never sure, and she never told him.

He leaned his head back against the bulkhead and looked up at the roof, brows pinched together in a frustrated frown. After everything, all this time, all the fighting and distance and pain, Clarke was there at the end of the hall and he was almost sure she felt the change to. How could she not? And yet, this was not the time to be distracted by something like this. Especially if he felt he couldn't pursue it without talking to Echo. She deserved better from him after three years, regardless of the fact she seemed sure it was coming before they went into cryo. Something happened between her and Clarke before they escaped on the ship, he saw her watching Clarke with a sad look, almost resigned to something and then she didn't as much as say goodbye before having Montey put her in cryo.

He shot a look down the hall figuring Clarke had hopefully settled into a peaceful sleep after head had been pacing and sitting there for over an hour in his thoughts, and pushed himself up off the floor. Walking as softly as he could, he walked back down the length of the hall and stopped at Clarke's door, leaning in and listened hard. After a few moments he detected the faint sound of her familiar soft snore and he smiled looking down at his shoes and putting his hand on the door he said softly, "Good night, Princess." And walked away to find out where Raven was at with the probe's retro-fit.

Raven, Shaw , Emori and Murphy were in the work bay having a heated argument when Bellamy came in. "I don't know how else to explain it to you! That's. Not. Going. To. Work." Raven said to the others in a frustrated tone that had her typical, I know better than you edge to it. Shaw and Emori broke in to a chorus of arguments, each getting louder as they tried to voice their opinions above each other. Murphy was leaning against one of the work tables across from a wall tossing a ball against it and catching it while laughing at the argument going on. He looked up, spotting Bellamy and tossed him the ball.

Bellamy caught it in his hand without blinking, and walked over to the group, "Hey! Whoa! Enough!" he hollered in his booming bass of authority. They all immediately stopped and turned to look at him. "What seems to be the issue?" He asked slightly exasperated with them.

Raven huffed and started to pace and explain, "Creative differences." She spat out with frustration huffing and pacing some more before slowing in front of Bellamy. "We are so close Bell." She said obviously tired and frazzled around the edges. He knew that look and it said she was on the edge and to stay out of her way till she was done.

Bellamy nodded and held up his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay. Where are we coming up short?" And his eyes flicked up to Shaw and Emori.

Raven turned and looked back at Shaw and Emori, "We can't agree on how to insulate the propulsion system without…." She said raising her hands and turning to Bellamy.

"Kaboom!" Murphy piped up and walked over slowly splaying both hands up in the air to emphasize his word. "Look, if you guys just used this system here," he said pointing to one of Raven's circuit drawings on the far wall, "Modify it here, here, and here, and it will work without the fantastic kaboom." He finished pointing to the specific places on the drawing.

There was complete silence in the room as all eyes turned to Murphy in utter shock. Raven's mouth actually dropped open as she slowly turned back to the circuit drawings and she started to squint and her mouth started to resembled a guppy's, opening and closing as a realization dawned on her.

"Raven? Will it work?" Bellamy said slowly looking between each of the group.

Raven turned and looked at Murphy with her eyes half closed scrutinizing him carefully, "How. The. Hell. Murphy?!" she said slowly emphasizing each word carefully.

Murphy stepped forward past Bellamy and faced off with past Raven. "While you were busy talking, I guess some of the information stuck." He said tapping his temple.

Bellamy rolled his eyes and looked over Murphy's shoulder at Raven, "Murphy, stop being an ass." He said, and Murphy turned around with a look that could kill. "Pike told me Murphy was top of his class in electronics, but got put in isolation before it was to widely known. It never seemed to be an issue on the ring as nothing really came up regarding electronics, but here...that's a different story." He turned to Murphy then pulling himself up to his full height to emphasize his next words, "Murphy, I thought we already discussed this in the training room." Alluding to their fight that he won.

"Now why did you have to go and ruin a good thing!" Murphy said throwing his hands up in the air.

Raven glared at him with a death stare, "Seriously? You little cockroach! You've had the answer this whole time?!" and she stepped towards him as he started to laugh and took a few steps back.

"John! This whole time? What else are you not telling us?!" Emori said with a hurtful tone. Murphy turned and caught her eye and all his cocky swagger melted away.

"Emori…..I…." He started in way of explanation but she cut him off.

"No, John. This is our chance at a new start and you are making it seem like a big joke." And she stalked off out of the work bay.

Murphy turned firing one more dirty look at Bellamy and started to jog after her, "Emori, wait, I…..shit!" he swore rounding the corner out of site.

Bellamy turned back to Raven and noticed that Shaw had moved towards the drawing. "That will work." He said and moved to the desk to get started.

"Damn it!" Raven said and surrendering to the fact that Murphy had been right and turned to go work with Shaw.

Bellamy turned shaking his head at the whole thing. He knew that Murphy hadn't, or wouldn't have let them dangle long with the problem, and had intervened in the past when Raven had hit the wall fixing things on the ring, but he had done so in a way that she didn't know it had been him, which was why Bellamy usually tried to cut him some slack. Now his secret was out and he wasn't going to escape helping out so easily next time and he set Murphy's ball on one of the table corners smiling ruefully.

Bellamy walked to the bridge to check on Jordan, Madi and Indra, but stopped to grab a cup of coffee from the mess first. When he stepped through the doors he took a second to survey the scene. Indra was in one of the command seats, head hanging to the one side awkwardly, asleep, while Madi and Jordan were speaking in soft tones by one of the consoles, both with cups of coffee, sharing a snack off a plate between them.

Madi looked up and quickly held her finger to her lips in quiet gesture then pointed to Indra. He nodded with a disbelieving look and walked over to the pair. "So, where are we at?" He said quietly as his eyes scanned the communications console.

"Is Clarke asleep?" Madi said with a concerned undertone to her voice, ignoring his question completely.

Bellamy cleared his throat and avoided her gaze, "Ah, yeah. She's asleep now." He said noticing how astutely her eyes studied him as he said it.

Madi continued to study him critically for a moment, but decided to let it go for the time being, "We got a message to the surface, received one back and sent a response." She said quickly. "We should be hearing their location shortly and I will relay it to Raven once we know." She finished in her Commanders tone of authority.

Bellamy looked up at her and nodded with a serious look on his face, all business, "Good," he said shortly and looked over at Indra, "Should we wake her and send her to go get some sleep to?" He said slightly concerned as to the angle of her neck.

With eyes still closed she responded, "That would be preferable to this uncomfortable chair." Startling Bellamy, Madi and Jordan, then causing them to chuckle.

Madi recovered first, "Go, we have time yet and I will need you fresh in a few hours." To which Indra opened her eyes and nodded to Madi. She got up with a slight groan, rubbing her neck and nodding at Bellamy and Jordan as she exited.

Madi turned her gaze on Bellamy as he lounged in the captains chair, "You too." She said putting as much authority in her tone as she could muster, feeling slightly awkward giving him an order.

Bellamy turned his eyes on Madi surprised, "You are going to order me now?" He asked, half joking and half surprised at how much authority she inflected in her tone.

"You look like shit, Bellamy." She said bluntly to his surprise. And after a couple seconds both Jordan and Bellamy started to laugh.

"As you wish Heda." He said still chuckling, "Call me once Raven is ready to launch and we have the Eligis III coordinates." He added getting up and shaking his head at Madi, starting to feel the exhaustion aching deep in his bones.

"Yup." She responded, flipping back to her young girl persona and Jordan just shook his head at how fast she seemed to flip between the two personalities.

"Okay, you were telling me how this whole Commander thing works…." Bellamy heard him say to Madi as he left.

He found himself yawning as he stopped by the mess and dropped off his cup. Continuing down towards his quarters he stopped at the corner of the hall and looked in the direction of Clarke's room. His feet seemed to have a mind of their own and he walked passed his corridor, down the hall to turn down towards Clarke's room. Slowing his steps as he reached her door, hesitating, unsure as to why he came and looked down trying to figure it out.

He was just about to leave, with a shake of his head when Clarke's door opened and she stopped dead as his head snapped up looking her straight in the eyes. "I, Uh, couldn't sleep anymore." She said softly.

Bellamy seemed dumbfounded and heard himself say, "The Commander ordered me to get some sleep." And then he mentally kicked himself, briefly closing his eyes at the realization he was sent to sleep but ended up at her door.

Clarke looked confused for a moment, tilting her head to the side, "And you are here?" She said stating the obvious.

Bellamy swallowed around the lump in his throat and fumbled for something to say, "I just, well, I wanted to make sure you were okay." He said and finally looked up meeting her gaze. "And, I felt I owe you an explanation."

Clarke's eyes widened in surprise and her heart slammed into her ribcage at his words, but she decided to cut him off, "It's okay. You don't owe me anything." She didn't want to hear about Echo, how he had moved on.

This time it was Bellamy's turn to be taken aback by her response, his eyebrows lifting at the look of surprise and fear on her face, "You may feel that way, but..." he tried again, trying to figure out why she was pulling away from him again.

Clarke cut in again, stepping out of her room and out into the hall with him, keeping her head down so he wouldn't see her face and he hurt that was plain in her eyes, "Seriously, it's fine. I'm good. We're good." And she tried to walk away till he stopped her by taking her arm and turning her to face him, but she kept her face turned down as tears threatened. She hated how emotional she was with the lack of sleep.

"Clarke," He said softly in that deep, caring tone she missed and he brought his hand to her chin, lifting her face ever so gently so her eyes finally met his. "Don't do this. Don't shut me out." he barely whispered pleading her with his eyes. Her face was warm cupped in his hand, skin so very soft against his fingers and he couldn't help but take a step closer to her.

Clarke couldn't stop herself, as if Bellamy had this gravity, a pull that she was caught in and all she could do was let her eyes drift to his mouth before her eyes fluttered shut against the tears and she shook her head softly in his hand, silent tears slipping out betraying the hurt she was feeling being so close to him. She took a deep breath and swallowed her pain, shutting down the tears.

"What's going on Clarke?" He asked slipping his hand to the side of her face and brushing the last tear away from her cheek, taking another step towards her. "Just talk to me." He pushed, as he watched her face smooth and the emotion slide away and she looked up at him with a new resolve. An old hurt stirred inside him and it sparked his anger causing him to step away.

Clarke saw the shift in Bellamy's emotions as easily as if she felt it in herself and knew his anger would be next and she steeped herself against whatever words he was going to say. She would take whatever he had to say as long as she didn't have to hear him tell her that she had crossed a line and he had moved on.

Bellamy turned, heart picking up its tempo as he tried to keep himself from saying something that he would regret or couldn't come back from. Turning back he leveled his angry gaze on her and saw her lift her chin slightly as if she was ready for a fight. With that simple movement it hit him again just how well she knew him and he suddenly felt exhausted, all the stress, and emotions catching up to him all in one moment. He let out his breath in a big gush and along with it went his anger and all the things he was going to tell her.

This didn't seem like it was the time either and he wasn't going to force it. He stood up and crossed the hall as Clarke eyed him cautiously. He leaned over and kissed her cheek softly, "I am always here for you when you are ready talk." His voice reflecting the certainly of his feelings, ending the conversation.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: All hail CW and thier rights**

 **I kind of enjoyed this chapter although it doesn't move the story along much. As always...I am humbled by the likes and reviews! Please, PLEASE keep them coming, good or bad. I will try to post again by the weekend as I had some really good story lines come to mind while sitting in my car on the commute home from work...more to come!**

Chapter VIII

Bellamy walked into his room, flopped on his bed then proceeded to chuck his pillow across the length of the room in frustration watching it hit the corner of a table that had some books on it and knock them flying to the floor. "Fuck." He muttered and laid back on the bare bed for a moment before sighing in resignation and getting up to put the books back and retrieve his pillow. He collapsed back on the bed on his back stuffing the pillow under his head and tucking his arm under his neck, propping his elbow on the wall, jamming his eyes closed demanding sleep take him immediately.

His whole day had gone to shit and he wasn't quite sure how he was going to salvage his relationship at this point with Clarke, let alone keep his mind off the way her skin felt under his lips. She was pushing him away, throwing up walls for some unknown reason and he was helpless to stop it because she was refusing to talk or listen at this point. Good old, stubborn Clarke. It was one of the reasons he found himself caring for her so long ago as he held her in a dark hole teaching her to shoot a gun. She would get something in her head and that was it, there was no talking to her about it.

He huffed and rolled on his side slamming his eyes shut again. He started thinking about how she smelled as he had leaned close, like spice and vanilla, and how the ends of a couple stray blonde locks tickled his cheek as he neared her face. How her body shifted ever so slightly into his without her even realizing it and that her skin radiated warmth even before his lips actually touched her silky-smooth skin of her cheek. His mind drifted to the feel of her in his arms when she had her nightmare and how she rested her forehead on his in the infirmary. All of it lulling him into a relaxed state that lead him to drift off to a place where there were no threats, no war, and no misunderstandings between them.

Clarke made her way to the mess to get a coffee completely distracted as she did. Her mind was chewing on Bellamy's last words to her. How he would always be there to talk to when she needed, but yet that kiss, chaste as it was, seemed like there was so much more to it. She shook her head to get the idea out and moved on to making a cup of coffee. Turning around she nearly drop her mug as Jordan was standing right behind her.

"Oh my God, Jordan. You scared the shit out of me!" she said moving to put down her mug so she could clean up the coffee that had sloshed everywhere.

"I'm sorry Clarke. I asked you a question as I came in but you seemed pretty preoccupied when you turned around." He offered by way of explanation then bent to help her clean up.

"Yeah, sorry. I guess I didn't get enough sleep." She said half heartedly and finished wiping up the floor and the table before she turned back to refill her, now, half empty coffee mug.

"I wanted to ask you something now that we had a minute alone." He said hesitantly, seeming shy and nervous of Clarke.

"Sure, go ahead." She replied and gestured for him to have a seat at the table they just cleaned up.

Sitting, Jordan didn't know how to approach his question as it was quite personal in nature and Harper always told him it wasn't polite to grill someone on their personal life. He fiddled with the cloth he had used to wipe off the table then looked up to see Clarke's welcoming gaze.

He smiled back and then plunged forward with his question, "What was it like? Stepping on ground for the first time? And being in battle?" He voiced his questions almost reverently, as if he had practiced asking her millions of times.

Clarke was taken a little aback by his questions, but realized he was like they all were years ago. He had lived his whole life in space and now in the next month would be looking at setting his feet on solid ground. "Stepping on Earth? It was terrifying, and exciting and mind blowing all at the same time." She said smiling at the memory of watching a young, naïve Octavia walk down the drop ship ramp and set foot on Earth. It seemed lime a lifetime away. As for his second question, she frowned and looked into her coffee cup.

After a moment she looked up, framing her words carefully. "I hope for you, just as Monty and Harper did, that we do better this time around. That we learn to find peace when most of us up here have only known war. It leaves more than scars on your body." She finished quietly holding up her scared hands and thinking again of her nightmares.

Jordan's eyes went from the wonder of her first response to slight hurt and disappointment to her second. He didn't want war, or fighting, God knows he wasn't good at it, but the stories his patently told were like fairy tales and he used to sit by both Clarke and Bellamy's cryo chambers pretending them to be the real-life princess and knight from his stories. Now, as he spent time with them, he was starting to see the reality of living their life had become.

Clarke watched him mentally struggle with what she said and she found herself taking a moment where she hadn't before and looked at him closely. He had Monty's eyes with Harper's cheeks and mouth, his skin more the color of his father's while his hair was lighter, like his mother's. He was strong, smart, and resilient while having a innocent like wonder with every new thing that came up.

"Um, Clarke?" his voice brought her out of her thoughts and she realized she was studying him intently as he shifted awkwardly in his chair.

She laughed and looked back at her cup, "I'm sorry. Sometimes it just takes me by surprise all over that you are their son." She explained adding quickly, "They would be very proud of how you have stepped up to help."

It was his turn to look away and he studied the table intently while swallowing a lump in his throat. "It's definitely taken some getting used to having so many people around." He mumbled, then went back to his original train of thought, "Clarke, do you think Indra, or one of the others could teach me to fight?"

Clarke stumbled over his question fighting with all that could mean. "Jordan..." she said hesitating not sure how to answer his question.

Jordan cut her off quickly, "I know what they told you." he said referring to his parents. "I just feel like I should know how to defend myself." He said pressing the issue hopefully.

Clarke sighed and started weighing the pros and cons in her head. They were striving to make this different. Make this a fresh start, but they had been dropped on Earth with no fighting skills other that natural instincts and some basic self-defence. She looked up at Jordan with resolve, "I want you to understand, this won't be for battle. This is to keep you safe, should we need it."

Jordan nearly vibrated with his excitement and nodded enthusiastically almost not even hearing her say anything else. "I know. I get it." Was all he could get out beaming at her.

"I will make sure Indra works you into Madi's training schedule." Clarke said and stood to get up. It was time for her to find Madi and check in anyways. "Is Madi still on the bridge?" she asked moving to get another cup of coffee.

"Sorry?" Jordan said, still focused on the fact he was going to train. "Oh, um, no. She went to get some sleep as The Colony is now on the far side of the planet." he added off handily.

"The what?" Clarke said head snapping around towards Jordan.

He looked up at her in surprise, "Oh, yeah, sorry. You were asleep." And he got up grabbing a coffee casually as Clarke waited impatiently.

"And..." she finally said after he didn't seem like he would expand on what he was saying.

"OH! Ahhh, well. We don't have an actual number of people, they just referred to their location as The Colony. Madi got all the info to Raven, who should be finished with the test probe in a couple hours. Apparently, they had a minor setback, but have it solved and were going to let the rest of us know when they were done." Jordan said filling her in a little better. "I was going to go and have a nap now myself."

Clarke nodded her head slowly processing. "Okay, thanks Jordan. Get some sleep. I am going to go check on the Infirmary." And she headed out and down the hall.

'The Colony', she mused, wondering what exactly that meant. In a few hundred years they probably hadn't been able to spread to far due to the limited supplies it suggested in the message and in the logs. She rounded the corner of the Infirmary bay and through the glass in the door saw Jackson and Miller locked an incredibly intense embrace and her hand froze before keying the door open and ruining their moment. She knew they had been at odds as Miller had been woken simply because of being Jackson's partner, but he had been one of the original one hundred that knew Monty and Harper well.

Clarke decided to slip away and let them have their time together uninterrupted and made her way to the work bay. She could hear the conversation and music playing as rounded the corner and made her way to where Raven and Shaw were working intensely to put all the pieces together that were completed.

"How's it going in here?" Clarke said raising her voice slightly to carry over the level of the music playing. The walls were littered with schematics and circuit drawings, there was bits of wire, scrap metal, and plastic all over the floor and shelves, and the desk had tools, plates and cups covering every available, not used surface.

Raven looked up magnifying glasses perched on the end of her nose, soldering iron smoking slightly in her one hand. "A bit busy here Clarke." She stated briskly and put her head down and got back to work as Shaw looked up at her from where he had his hands in the prob installing something.

"Should be about three more hours. That's the last of the circuit boards to be finished. Then it will be a matter of putting it together and firing up the systems to do a check." He added an apologetic smile before going back to what he was doing.

"Sounds good. Did Murphy and Emori go to get some sleep?" she asked and both Raven and Shaw started chuckling, to which Clarke figured that meant they were either fighting again or making up. Either way they weren't helping with this portion and she really didn't feel like getting in the middle of someone else's drama. She seemed to have enough of her own at the moment.

Stuffing her hands in her pockets, for the first time in a very long time she felt as if she didn't have a purpose and a bit claustrophobic. She had grown up on the Ring, and even had been in isolation for the good part of a year, but at least then she had a window. She decided to make her way down the hall to the training bay and get a bit of a workout to sort through some of her frustrations.

It didn't take long before she was down to her undershirt and thin pants, sweating as she went through the attacks with a staff. She had trained over the years with Madi in as many weapons as she could, but it had been awhile since she had gone through the attacks. Her body fell into the regular pattern and rhythm of the movements as if in a fluid dance focused only on the motions and the feeling of the work on her muscles. Turning in the last strike she swung the staff with all her strength letting out a cry as she did and her staff came in contact with another one in with a solid crack that reverberated up her arms.

Panting, her gaze followed up the staff to find Bellamy holding the other end with a mischievous grin. She stood, fully upright and smoothed her hair back out of her face, "Did you get some sleep?" She asked trying to catch her breath for more than just the reason of her workout.

"A bit." He replied. He had been leaning on the door frame for a good 15 minutes watching her go through the motions, working her way through all of the attacks. Her form was fluid and smooth, graceful and he couldn't help but step in at the end to join her. His body had already been humming with the dreams he had of her when he had made his way to the training bay to work out some of his pent-up frustration and found her doing the same thing.

Shifting his weight and the staff in his hands he smiled ruefully at her and he watched a slow smile pull at the corner of her mouth and she shifted back into a fighting stance. They had never actually fought each other before, Clarke slapping him not included, so they both moved in slow circles waiting on the other to strike. "You think you can keep up?" Bellamy said egging her on.

Clarke smiled at his arrogance knowing that she had been training and sparing against a night blood, child she may have been, for six years. Not to mention they had found training texts to follow with techniques and drills had made both proficient in many weapons. She circled him, analysing his stance and grip, figuring out an effective attack against his size, weight and reach difference. Once she had a plan she feigned to side and attacked. She didn't hold back at all and it wasn't long before she connected with the end of her staff to his ribs causing him to yelp and stumble back holding his side.

His eyes were wide with surprise and hurt and then narrowed as a wicked grin slowly spread accenting his dimples and sparking a fire of challenge in his eyes. "So that's how it's going to be?" And he came at her with renewed effort. He attacked using all the tricks he had learned over the six years on the ring with Echo, but no matter what he tried she countered his attacks and danced just out of his reach until he was drenched with sweat and breathing heavily.

He was almost where she needed him to be, but the effort to just counter him was taking its toll after training for almost an hour before he came in. Her arms felt like jello and her legs were on fire from staying on her toes to keep out of his way. She was reaching her maximum and needed to strike before he could recover. She swiped at his feet causing him to shift and move slightly off balance. As soon as he did she move within his reach going to strike under his ribs and grabbing his staff, stepping forward and twisting with her staff as she flipped him neatly, and finished with both of the weapons in her hands hovering over his head as if to finish him.

Their eyes locked, Bellamy's wide with surprise and admiration, both panting heavily when they both heard a slow clapping. Turning to the door Clarke saw Murphy leaning in the doorway clapping at the show he just got. "Well, now, Clarke. Apparently, I should come to you if I want to kick Bellamy's ass." He said grinning from ear to ear.

Bellamy huffed in response and Clarke moved to offer him a hand up without even thinking. He grabbed her hand groaning as he got up and winced, grabbing his side. Clarke immediately looked concerned and repentant, "Oh my God, did I hurt you?" She asked quickly moving towards him to check.

Bellamy held his hands up and smiled, covering the pain he felt with each breath. "No worries. I'm good, it just stings." And he held her gaze to reassure her knowing she would insist on checking him if he showed how much it actually did hurt.

"So, you picked up a few skills on your alone time?" Murphy said walking over and eyeing Bellamy holding his side. He knew Bellamy was putting on a show for Clarke, but he wasn't sure if it was his pride, or if something more was going on, either way, he owed Bellamy after spilling the beans about being good with electronics. He walked up to Bellamy and gave him a quick shot to the ribs.

It felt like the wind was sucked out of his lungs and his only response to Murphy's shot was to let out a, "Gah!" and double over clutching his side.

"Murphy, what the HELL!" Clarke roared at him as she went over to Bellamy and guided him to a chair. She turned to Bellamy who was breathing rapidly and as shallow as possible to keep the pain from being to bad.

"Yeah, well he was lying to you, for some reason, and I owed him for earlier. When you are done Raven said she is set to do the test when we come around to the side of the planet where the Colony is." An tossing a last wicked grin at Bellamy he turned on his heal and sauntered out arrogantly.

Bellamy hissed as he left, "Asshole." And focused on keeping his breathing shallow.

"Bellamy, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have hit you that hard! Please, let me see?" Clarke's voice was caked with emotion at the thought that she really did inadvertently seriously hurt him.

Bellamy looked up at her as she hovered over him and smiled a bit, "Murphy wasn't wrong. Where did you learn to fight like that?" He asked and moved a little so that she could take a look at his ribs. He caught her eye again as her fingers grabbed the edge of his sweat damp shirt to lift it and he saw her switch into her medical mode. "I actually don't think it as the shot in the ribs that did it. It was the flip and landing on my arm." He said before sucking his breath in through closed teeth as she palpated his ribs.

Clarke felt the ribs carefully with enough pressure to gauge whether or not they were stable, but yet not so hard as to send his pain spiking into an intolerable level. "Looks like you are going to have a really good bruise, but everything feels stable. It might be cracked though." She said after lowering his shirt back down.

Bellamy looked at her with wonder, "Where did you learn to fight like that?" He asked again genuinely curious as to how she managed such a flip.

Clarke shrugged and looked away putting her hands back in her lap. "I would train with Madi. She had received training before I found her, and then we found old writings when we were going through one of the buildings. We just, figured it out, I guess."

Bellamy chuckled, then winced, "When I am healed you need to teach me that." And he gingerly got up as Clarke shot him a concerned look. "Really, it's okay. I need to go change though before we do this launch." He said and ran the hand that wasn't holding his side through his hair.

Clarke felt a tentative smile creep up on her face, but she still felt horrible for hurting him. "Yeah me too. If you want I could tape up your ribs. It would help?" She said hoping Jackson and Miller would be long gone by now.

Bellamy stopped and thought for a sec, "After I change? Meet you in the infirmary?" He asked going to leave again. Things seemed to have smoothed out between them enough that it was more back to their regular selves.

By the time that Bellamy and Clark made it to the bridge everyone else was there waiting for the radio transmission from The Colony to advise them they were ready for the probe. Bellamy was still holding his ribs, but seemed to be moving better and he and Clarke seemed to be finding a better rhythm since they spared even though there were a few awkward moments as she applied the tape while he sat shirtless on the bed.

Raven was writing the last few parts of the program to hopefully ensure a safe landing near The Colony as they had decided to pack a laser radio in the small empty space in the probe in hopes to improve the communication, and Jordan and Madi had already composed a message to send with the hopeful landing coordinates of the probe.

Everyone seemed excited to possibly move one step closer to setting foot on the planet and within a few minutes of the second sun clearing the planets horizon, the static changed indicating a message from the surface. Jordan copied, looped and sped up the message and Madi closed her eyes listen carefully.

"They are ready for the coordinates for the probe and are hoping we have solved the problem of their...cage?" Madi said sounding unsure of the last word and looked over at Clarke showing her concern to the reference and Clarke gave an imperceptible tilt to her head back indicating she felt it didn't sound good either.

Clarke could see Madi tighten in concern over the wording. She shared the girls concern, but kept her response as minimal as possible. This was a new start and she didn't want to jump to conclusions before even getting to the planet's surface, but she felt Bellamy's gentle hand move to her lower back as he stood beside her and she knew he was thinking the same as her.

Jordan imputed the coordinates and Raven primed the launch sequence and everyone held their breath as the countdown began. Shaw put a hand on Raven's shoulder in support and they all listened to the numbers being read out by the computer's tinny vocals till zero. It took a couple seconds but they could see the trail from the probe streaking down towards the surface and Jordan and Raven brought up the reading display.

"Entering the thermosphere, Jordan keep a close eye on those readings, this is where our insulation will be tested." Raven said squinting on her readings and Jordan brought up specific screens, transferring information to Raven's console as needed. "Seem's to be holding, communication is cutting out..." Raven relayed as their sensors seemed to start to drop in the readings.

"Okay, we are in the mesosphere, holding together," Raven said to herself and muttered, "Common baby, hold together for me." Her fingers tapping on the console and her good leg bounced nervously under the desk.

"Communication totally out now. It's flying blind, here's to hoping the thrusters and chute work..." Jordan said and tossed a look over at Raven and Shaw. "Time to burn, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three two, one..." and everyone strained their eyes on the screen.

"Well, no explosion..." Raven said letting a small amount of hope creep into her tone, "Chute to open in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one..." And now we wait for the surface to let us know if it was a massive crash and burn." And she leaned back in her chair and leaned into Shaw's side as he slipped his arm around her shoulders.

Within a few minutes the static was back with its regular pattern. Jordan jumped to work getting it fixed and replaying it for Madi who immediately broke out into a smile. "Chute confirmed and they are tracking it to landing. It appears to be about 30 miles off the landing coordinates but appears intact from what they can tell."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:All rights to CW**

 **Sorry for the delay. I hope this chapter doesn't seem to disjointed. I needed a bridge to what was to come up and life, work and the fam seemed to conspire against me getting a good amount of writing done at once. Keep the reviews coming! I love to hear your thoughts on my character development and how the story is going. I will try to get chapters out a little quicker. Thank you all so very much for coming back and reading on! Enjoy!**

Chapter IX

The members of The Colony had managed to get the radio system out of the probe and it seemed that laser comms worked through the atmosphere, but theirs had been unrepairable for many years, however they didn't have a very long range and wouldn't work at all when the ship was on the opposite side of the planet. Clarke and Bellamy had taken over the communications with the leader of The Colony, Lucian Krass, but they both were starting to get concerned by the way this leader dodged questions as to their past, how they survived and how many were on the surface. He hadn't given away much either about the state on the surface, but it definitely didn't sound like he had gained power by and election, or had a council of any kind to deal with and Clarke found herself wishing at times that Kane was healthy enough to wake as he would know how to deal with someone like Krass.

Although it appeared over the few generations that most advanced technical skills and knowledge had been passed down but, there still appeared to be a significant divide of knowledge which made Clarke feel better about a few things. "As long as they don't have someone who could pilot, we won't need to be as concerned about them trying to take the drop ship." Clarke stated while having supper with Madi and Bellamy after the last communication. They were trying to start the planning to landing as Raven was only about a week or so away from finishing the retro-fit on the shuttle.

"I'm still not quite comfortable in going down with that thought, though. I still think we should drop a good distance away and hoof it to the Colony." Bellamy said around a mouthful of food. "Last time I was arrogant I was reminded quite effectively what happens." He said with a grin, shooting a look at Clarke who ducked her head with a guilty look.

It had taken the better part of three weeks for Bellamy to be able to move freely without having his ribs catch in pain, and he and Clarke were supposed to go after supper to do some light training just to see how things were healing as he was getting antsy to do something other than just talk on a radio and Clarke felt it necessary to clear him to join the mission to the surface. "I think this time though we need to follow in Finn's footsteps and not bring weapons to the meeting." Clarke said feeling the usual slight pang when saying his name, even after all these years.

"And by that you are meaning the drop ship will be guarded with weapons." Madi said filling in even though she didn't have to, and both Clarke and Bellamy nodded with a humorless chuckle. "The Commanders said we should have a two team group to go down as well. One as a delegation and one as….security." She was finding it easier and easier to tap into the commanders while still staying present in the moment, but Lexa still was the overpowering voice and Madi could figure out if it was because she was the most recent or because of Clarke.

Clarke knew that Madi had voiced a good plan, but after a few moments, it sunk in what that would mean. It seemed like the whole table knew it as Bellamy and Madi were both quiet and thoughtful. "So," she said clearing her throat, "who do we wake, and when."

Bellamy shot Clarke a quick look, but she was staring at her coffee cup intently. He knew he was going to have to be the one to say it. "Echo would be the natural first choice." He tried to keep his tone neutral and peaked over at Madi who was studying Clarke as well. It seemed all that time together, Madi had an inside track on what Clarke might be feeling and Bellamy was fleetingly tempted to talk to her about her thoughts.

Clarke swallowed her emotions and looked up to find both Bellamy and Madi studying her. She frowned at them, "Echo is the right choice, but we need more than her. We have Miller, but I don't necessarily feel he will have our best interests in mind."

"I will consult Indra and we will compose a list of...say, eight others, other than Miller and Echo?" Madi said in an all business tone then turned to Bellamy. "I wanted to talk to you about Octavia." She stated bluntly.

Bellamy immediately frowned and started at his hands, heart conflicted all of a sudden. "What about?" He couldn't look at Madi and felt Clarke's gaze on him. He loved his sister and had found himself going down to the cryo a few times since they woke up to sit in the quiet, looking at the girl who had become a stranger in 6 years.

Madi reached over, uncharacteristically, and covered her small hand over Bellamy's speaking softly but with all the authority of the commanders in her tone. "She is your sister and Bloodrena. When it came down to it, she recognized when the fight was over and made the right choice. If she was by my side, I could command a unified army."

Clarke's head snapped around and immediately stated, "Madi! No, that is a very bad idea." Worry written plain across her face.

Bellamy looked up with surprise and the pain of the past in his eyes. "Madi, she threatened to kill you. And, there are loyal followers who would want nothing more than to see her back in charge." He was being slightly selfish in his objections, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to face her, even after this long. In cryo, at least, he knew she was safe but he didn't have to see the pleading look on her face that she left him with before going under.

Madi sat back in her chair and eyed both Clarke and Bellamy closely, "This is the right choice. She needs to atone for the mistakes she made, but now is not the time." And she had a tone of finality in her voice.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each processing the conversation. Clarke marveled and grieved over how Madi had changed since receiving the flame. She had been thrust headlong into a world Clarke had hoped they had left behind in the 6 years in Shallow Valley before Diyoza appeared. Bellamy struggled with his thought of Octavia being at Madi's side but couldn't help the thought deep down that she could move passed at the hurt and pain and find the person she had been before becoming Bloodrena.

"When should we wake everyone then?" Madi said with a yawn, looking much like the young girl she was again and Clarke smiled softly at her.

"We don't need to decide that right at this moment my little Natblida." Clarke said affectionately, "Go get some rest now and we can finalize other things tomorrow." Madi got up smiling and leaned her forehead against Clarke's lovingly.

"Love you Clarke. Good night Bellamy." Madi said, putting her plate and cup away and yawning widely as she shuffled out of the mess hall.

Bellamy smiled, shaking his head a little as he got up and put his dishes away as well, "Clarke, the Momma Bear. Still amazes me some times." He said turning back to look at her leaning on the counter.

Clarke tilted her head to the side, pinching her eyebrows together in a bit of a scowl, "What do you mean?" She asked, curious as to where his train of thought was going.

"I don't know." Bellamy responded a little rattled by her question. "I guess it's hard to see someone as a mother figure when we were fighting grounders, mountain men and an apocalyptic radioactive wave." He explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "It suits you though." He added nonchalantly.

Clarke smiled slightly, "It sure didn't seem to suit me to start." she grumbled at the memory, then decided to shift gears. "You think you can train?" She said hopefully nodding her head in the direction of the door.

Bellamy smiled, "After you." And the walked out of the mess hall, making their way towards the training bay as music blared from down at the end of the hall.

Raven had the music blasting in the shuttle hanger as she was laying on the floor with most of her body in an exposed section of the drop ship, foot tapping along with the beat as she insulated that sections electronic system. It had been pretty tedious work, but now that they had a method, they weren't needing to rebuild then insulate, they could just work on making sure the critical systems would be protected. It was a good thing the ship had been used for mining, as none of it had been extracted from the cargo hold and was rich in the minerals they needed to create a protective barrier. It was a slow process, but the ship had all the tools they needed, just not allot for mass production.

Shaw came around the side of the ship and chuckled at the two feet dangling out of the section bouncing to the rock beat blasting away. "I'm starting to think you would sleep in here if you could." He said raising his voice as he crouched down by the opening.

Raven jumped, surprised by his appearance, "I wouldn't have to deal with the snoring." She quipped back at him and shimmied her way out from where she was working. She smiled as he came into view, crouched down, leaning against the hull. "Sorry, I was almost done this section. What time is it?" She asked seeing the fatigue on his face. They had been working non-stop to do the retro fit on the drop ship so that they could finally get to the surface.

Shaw smiled back, fatigue and stress making his whole body ache, "It's late. You need to get some sleep Raven. You are no good to anyone burnt out." He said gently feeling like the words were just as applicable for him as they were for her. He had just been on the other side of the ship working till he dozed off in the middle of trying to secure a panel. He got up and reached out his hand as if to say her going to bed was not an option.

Raven sighed in resignation and took his hand, letting him help her up. They were both sweaty and dirty and she had her coveralls half off with the top tied around her waist leaving her in just her tank top , but she slid her arms around Shaw's neck. "You know," she said smiling coyly at him, "Your snoring is kind of cute some times."

He raised an eyebrow at her mocking and slid his arms around her waist pulling her close, "You are one to talk. Pretty sure your snoring is louder than the music." He teased back and stifled her protest with a kiss. His life had taken a complete detour ever since meeting Raven, and he felt surprised on a regular basis by the fact that she had given him a chance after he let her be tortured for his lie, not to mention, saved his life and fallen in love with him. She was a force of nature in her own right with one of the most brilliant minds he had ever seen and he deepened the kiss, sliding his hands a little lower to press her hips tighter against him.

Raven felt the shift in the placement of his hands creating a tight knot that was growing low inside of her and she reflexively cupped the back of his head with her hands tilting her head slightly to deepen the kiss. His response was immediate and he turned her slightly and she felt cold metal meet her back as he pressed her against the hull of the drop ship. She couldn't help but respond with a yelp at the shock of the cold metal on her skin.

Shaw laughed against her lips by her response, "Mmmm, sorry." He mumbled his apology, not quite willing to break contact, but moving her off the ship.

She leaned back as he pouted slightly, causing her to laugh further at his response, "Common fly boy. Let's go get cleaned up and get some sleep." She said with a wink and started to walk off dragging him with her.

He chuckled suddenly very awake, "Yes, ma'am!" And let her drag him out of the shuttle bay, switching of the music as he went out the down hand still in hers.

They were joking further as they went down the hall to the quarters when they ran into Jordan trotting in the opposite direction. "Hey guys." He said in a chipper tenor.

Raven smiled tightly, wanting only to keep going to her quarters with Shaw and to continue what he had started in the shuttle bay. It took a little to get used to Jordan's quirky personality, but he was definitely his parents best selves and had proved incredibly smart and handy with any problem they had come up against. He had even figured a more efficient technique to fabricating the panels they needed to insulate the circuits and wiring that had saved them a significant amount of time.

"Hey Jordan," she said a little briskly hoping to clue him inter their rush to be anywhere but in the hallway at that moment.

"I was just going to come find you to see what section you wanted to work on next." He said with a look on his face of anticipation.

Shaw smothered a laugh as he felt Raven's hand tighten in his and he decided to step in, to save Jordan from a comment from Raven that wouldn't have been deserved for his level of enthusiasm, "We have been at the ventral side for a good portion of our day, we were just going to get some sleep." He said emphasizing the sleep portion of his sentence.

"Oh," Jordan said, the disappointment plain on his face. And Shaw cut in quickly as Raven gave his hand another squeeze, "Go ahead an keep going on the section I was working on though. I'm sure you can do a good job and it will keep things moving while we get some rest."

Jordan beamed with the compliment and with a wave, continued off done the hall at a quick walk while Raven mouthed, "Thank you." Silently to Shaw tugging his hand in the direction of the crew quarters. His chest bounced with silent laughter and he let her drag him down the hall.

Raven and Shaw were so caught up in each other that they weren't paying attention as they rounded the last corner and straight into Murphy, sending Raven tripping over feet, Shaw caught himself on the corner of the wall and Murphy managed to catch Raven before she tumbled to the ground awkwardly.

"Jeez, Raven!" Murphy exclaimed as the moment froze with him holding Raven and Shaw landing heavily against the corner of the wall. He smiled ruefully at Raven, "I figured you would fall for me eventually." He teased as Shaw scowled at him.

Raven righted herself and gave Murphy a hard shot to the shoulder, "Eww, gross, cockroach. In your dreams."

He laughed and rubbed his shoulder, egging her on further, "How'd you know?!" to which he got another shot to the same shoulder. "Ouch! Okay, okay, I'm just joking. Jeez, get a sense of humor already."

"Where's Emori?" She poked back, slightly hopeful that they had finally gotten passed their latest argument.

"In our room sleeping. I was restless so I figured I would go work on those circuits for the nav." Ever since Bellamy outed him and Emori tore a new one out of him for his knowledge, it had seemed that he was being slightly more helpful, but on his terms, as some kind of a penance for his deception to Emori.

Raven tried not to smile, knowing it would probably have the opposite effect on his work ethic, "k, well, we are going to get some shut eye, but your buddy will be happy to see you." And to her last comment she did smile as she referred to how Jordan seemed to cling to Murphy whenever he could.

Murphy made s big show of rolling his eyes and sighing loudly, but secretly he kind of liked the kid. He had always liked Monty, even when he was being a sanctimonious ass to him, but the 'kid', as Murphy nicknamed him, seemed to have his Dad's smarts with his Mom's sarcasm which he found entertaining. It also kind of tickled his ego that Jordan worshipped him, so he turned with a salute to Raven and Shaw and tossed a final jab at the pair, "Enjoy your 'sleep'." He said walking backward and air-quoting sleep with his fingers.

They both flipped Murphy off as he rounded the corner of the next hall laughing, then turned to each other with a smile, hurrying down the hall to Raven's quarters. Murphy popped into the mess hall briefly to grab a coffee then headed to the hanger bay to work. Carefully carrying his coffee, he continued on to the shuttle bay and walked in around the side of the shuttle, seeing Jordan's feet sticking out from a section of the hull. "Hey kid, better not bee screwing anything up under there." He said giving the feet a gentle kick, and was rewarded with the feet jerking in surprise followed by a dull thud on metal, followed by swearing.

Jordan shimmied out from the small opening he was wedged in, rubbing a growing goose-egg on his forehead. "Jeez Murphy, you scared the shit out me." He grumbled checking his fingers for blood.

Murphy just smiled, "Thought I would let you know I was here. I am going to work on the circuits." He said and started to saunter off to the bridge.

Jordan looked after him in slight surprise. Everything his dad told him, Murphy wasn't much of a joiner, or helper, but he seemed to be helping out a lot more lately. Shrugging his shoulders, he laid back, giving his head a quick rub again and squeezed his way back into the hole he was working in to finish the section he was working on trying to focus so he didn't make a mistake as Murphy flipped on some music before starting his work. They both worked late into their night cycle before packing it in at the same time and heading off to bed.

The next day Madi and Indra met Bellamy and Clarke shortly after breakfast with a list of people they should wake for the first landing team. Once it was all agree on it came down to a matter of timing. "We should have everyone here for this part of the conversation, and I want to talk to Miller too about him being on the landing party."

Clarke started to object again to her suggestion when Madi help up her hand to stop her. "I know you don't agree with this, but it is the best way to have unity." And she stood up motioning for Indra to follow her. "Having said that, I will be taking Indra with me."

Clarke's serious look relaxed a bit and Indra nodded some reassurance as she slipped out of the mess hall behind Madi to go find Miller. Clarke turned back to Bellamy, noticing his dark look as he pushed around the remainder of his breakfast on his tray. "Indra will keep her safe if she should need it." Clarke said assuming that was where his thoughts were.

"Hmmm?" Bellamy responded realizing Clarke was talking to him. "Sorry. What did you say?" All he could think about was how the days were ticking by and Raven was getting closer and closer to finishing the retro-fit on the shuttle and that meant they were getting closer to when Octavia was going to be awake, not to mention a conversation he was going to have to have with Echo.

Clarke tilted her head at Bellamy, "That's not what you were meaning. You know," Clarke started and impulsively reached out, taking his hand, "You and Octavia will figure it out. You are family and you love her." She finished, squeezing his hand a little.

He looked at her and nodded a little, "Clarke, this time is different. I don't know her anymore and the lengths she was willing to go…." He trailed off shaking his head at the memory of how she threatened him.

"We have all made mistakes in the name of what we thought was right." Clarke responded quietly and she caught his eye, holding it to make her point.

"I poisoned my sister because she was going to kill you." He retorted with a bite to his words. The conversation playing back in his head of Octavia telling his he was pleading for another's life that he loved. "She wasn't going to stop." He said barely audible.

Clarke sighed and moved her chair so she was beside him at the table. "You and Octavia have been through a lot. You need time, and hopefully, we will have that."

Bellamy looked up at her with a pained looked. He honestly didn't know how to get past how she had changed in his eyes. He wasn't even sure if how he felt was fair considering what he had been through with Clarke, and yet was able to find forgiveness with her.

Clarke watched the thoughts play across Bellamy's face as he looked down to where she was still holding his hand. There was so much more she could have said, being that she didn't trust Octavia one bit since she threatened Madi, but that wasn't what he needed or couldn't hear at the moment. And, Clarke knew, in the end of it, Octavia was his family, and he would never let that go. She watched his slowly raise his eyes to meet hers, questioning, with doubt and pain clear to her.

"How can you support me, when I know how you must feel about her." Bellamy stated and saw her immediate surprised expression.

Clarke took a moment, feeling like he had heard her thoughts as plain as she had said them out loud. "This isn't about me, or my feelings. She's your sister. Period." Clarke said with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

Bellamy huffed slightly and shook his head in disbelief at her words, "How do you do that?" He asked genuinely baffled by her comment and he started to laugh softly.

"Do what?" She responded smiling at his shift in emotions, feeling utterly confused as to his response to her support.

"You always know what I need to hear." He said with a lopsided grin on his face. "It's kind of eerie." He added teasing her gently.

Clarke laughed at his words, "It's a gift I guess." She retorted, feeling warm all over as she took note of the fact they were still holding hands. She slid her hand out from his self consciously and tried to maintain her light laughter, but failing as it sounded strained to her ears.

Bellamy'S face fell a little as she broke contact and he cleared his throat, "Well, we should get to the bridge. It's almost time to connect with Krass." He got up, grabbed her tray as grabbed his mug and got them refills of coffee and she handed him his mug silently as they went to the bridge to make contact with The Colony.

Madi and Indra walked into the infirmary where Miller was helping Jackson with the list of supplies Krass had advised they needed. Both looked up surprised as Madi and Indra came in, and Miller instinctively stepped in front of Jackson, his face hard.

"I would like to talk, if that's okay?" Madi said, directing her comment to Miller. She turned to Jackson, "We can stay here if it wouldn't disturb you." She stated lightly adding a smile to diffuse the tension in the room.

Miller turns his body, flicking his eyes to Jackson for a brief second as he nodded and continued on with his packing. His posture relaxes slightly and he turned back to Madi, "Heda." He said bowing his head slightly in respect, while never breaking eye contact.

Madi motioned him over to a small table and chairs off to the side of where Jackson was packing, but kept them in a position where they could be seen and heard. She sat and gestured for Miller to do the same as he eyed her wearily.

"I came to ask for your help." Madi said and watched his eyes and mouth open in surprise. "This planet presents a new chapter for all of us, and I want to lead in a way that will reflect that." She said transparently and Miller nodded at her so she continued. She outlined how She wanted to bring Octavia to her side to unify the command and usher in a new example of leadership. One that represented peace, and strength, not blood and punishment. When she was done she sat back and let Miller process what she had presented to him.

Miller sat back, a sceptical look on his face as he studied Madi, his eyes flicking over to Indra every so often. "And what do the other Commanders say about this?" His voice soft and hesitant.

"They urge me not to act in this manner, but they have never ruled in a time of peace. And they all desire that." Madi said honestly as the Commanders whispered at her not to.

A brief ghost of a smile pulled at the corner of Miller's mouth. "You really were raised by Clarke weren't you?" He commented surprising Madi. He sat up and leaned in, causing Indra to tense. "You haven't earned my trust, but I want to believe that we can have a new life. If you move against Bloodrena….."

Madi nodded solemnly as his words trailed off, "I mean her no harm. Her choices will haunt her enough that I don't have to do anything more." She stated sadly, mind wandering to Clarke. "Are we in agreement? Will you stand with me?"

Jackson had moved over from his work and stood by Miller. He reached over and placed a gentle hand on Miller's shoulder in show of support and hope for him to take the offer and life in front of him. Miller sighed, and bowed his head, "As you wish, Heda." And the tension in the room seemed to deflate palpably, but Madi reached out with her hand.

"No more bowing. I wish to command with, not over those beside me." She said leaving her hand hang in front of Miller.

He slowly reached out, and clasped her forearm, his large hand encircling it easily and her small hand barely reached half way around his forearm. "So when do we wake the others." He said, finally feeling as if he had purpose again, and not that he was a shadow in the group.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: All rights to CW...I still own absolutely nothing**

 **I needed a little more building to prep things for what I have next so I hope you all aren't to bored with the last couple of developing chapters. I just wanted to say thanks for such wonderful and supported reviews! I look forward to hearing people's thoughts on my writing so please, PLEASE drop me a review if u keep coming back...for those who have liked and made this a favorite...I am truly humbled! I have great things coming up so please stick with me!**

Chapter X

With Raven doing the final systems checks on the drop ship it had been decided that it was time to wake the others. Clarke had decided to make herself busy in the infirmary, citing that she needed to make sure the supplies that Krass had asked for were all prepped and packed properly, even though Jackson had already said he packed it.

Bellamy, Madi and Indra had gone to wake everyone and then was going to bring them to the bridge to explain the situation and show them the planet, then let them get some food while he broke the news about Monty and Harper to Echo, introducing her to Jordan. After all that, it was the final prep time as launch was going to be in two days.

Clarke had buried herself for almost the full day with packing, and repacking supplies, cleaning and reorganizing the shelf and stock in the infirmary when the doors hissed open. Clarke was bent down behind some boxes, but hollered from where she was, "It's all ready to go in the morning Jackson, we could probably take it to the shuttles cargo bay now, though." She said assuming that was Jackson who had come in.

An uncharacteristically soft female voice answered her back, "Hello Clarke." And she quickly stood up from where she was crouched down to see Octavia standing just inside the doors. She was standing tall and proud, but completely devoid of all her makeup and Bloodrena armor, her eyes darting around the room cautiously.

"Octavia." Clarke said slowly, unsure of the girl standing in front of her. For the first time in years it appeared to Clarke that she seemed lost, almost smaller, as if the years hadn't actually aged her, but stripped away everything that had made her what she was and left her with nothing. "What can I do for you?"

Octavia took a couple steps into the room, then hesitated, her emotions tumbling across her face for a split second, then resolving. "Bell said I should get some sleep. But….." And fear flickered through her eyes.

As wary as Clarke was of Octavia after everything she immediately recognized the look. Octavia had dreamed while in cryo, and it hadn't been of a green, lush planet that they first landed on. It had been of ghosts and deeds done while trapped in a black hole underground. "Not tired after a 125 years sleep?" Clarke chose to say instead.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Octavia's mouth. "Something like that." And she relaxed slightly taking a couple more steps into the room. "Could I do something in here? It seems relatively quiet and away from everyone else." She said hinting towards Clarke not being around anyone for the whole day, and people not really wanting her around either.

Clarke couldn't help but laugh at the slight jab, feeling a bit of the fire of the old Octavia simmering still in the girl before her. "It's not really interesting, but I have a pile of blankets over there that need to be folded and put into a crate." She offered taking pity on her.

Octavia nodded, shoulders dropping as she relaxed a little further with the offer of something to do even though Clarke could have sent her away, and she started working on the waist high pile of blankets that were by one of the exam tables.

Clarke noticed how she naturally positioned herself with her back to the wall, facing the rest of the room, so she could see everything each time she rose up with a new blanket. As she settled into a routine of folding and packing all the blankets Clarke moved packing the last bits of items watching her out of the corner of her eye.

After about an hour of silence of work, Octavia finally locked eyes with Clarke, "How did you do it?" She asked tentatively, and Clarke almost thought she heard slight awe in Octavia voice with the question too.

Clarke stopped her packing and looked over at Octavia with confusion, "How did I do what?" Unsure of the direction she was going with her question.

"Survive. How did you survive?" She asked setting down the blanket she was folding and looking earnestly at Clarke. It had been a very long time since Clarke and Octavia had any kind of real conversation.

Clarke hesitated, the look on Octavia's face was so much like Bellamy's, it threw her a little. "Madi, finding Madi in Shallow Valley saved me." She finally replied dropping her eyes as her mind drifting to the daily radio calls to Bellamy.

Octavia nodded slowly eyeing her carefully. She knew Clarke well enough, even after all this time to know when she was lying, or holding something back, but she was in no position to press for the truth. "Seems like it was a miracle for you." she said quietly with an almost wistful tone to her voice that cause Clarke to look up.

She realized that she was one of the only ones outside of the bunker that knew the hard decisions that had been placed on Octavia in the bunker and she found herself, despite all that Octavia had done, feeling pity and awe to her for keeping everyone together as she picked small pieces of fuzz off the blankets she had folded. "You know, I told Bellamy once what you did was impressive. Terrifying, but impressive."

Octavia's eyes flashed and she looked up at Clarke, gauging her words carefully, eyes narrowing before she spoke. "Your Mom outlined our options in pretty graphic detail." She finally retorted, almost biting on the words as she spoke realizing it had been Abby who told Clarke about the dark year. "I'm pretty sure Bellamy wouldn't classify anything I did then as impressive." She added softly, pain replacing the anger on her face.

Clarke's heart broke a little as she realized how lost Octavia looked, "Octavia, I'm in no position to judge you or what you did to survive. I have enough demons of my own I struggle with." She said walking slowly across the room, "But I know that this is a second chance for all of us, and we are all trying to do better, be better. Bellamy just needs time." She said earnestly, marveling slightly over her shift of roles. Normally, she had this conversation with Bellamy, "Just make sure you really want to make a change. It would break him to lose you again." She added softly, in defence of him.

Octavia's eyes brimmed with tears and she swallowed the lump in her throat at Clarke's words. All she could do was nod and put her head down and stare at the blanket. "You have every right to hate me." She said, barely above a whisper. "Thank you for always being there for Bell. It means more to him than he will ever tell you." And her mind flashed to the look on his face when she taunted Bellamy about loving Clarke.

Clarke stared at her, mouth open, totally stunned and confused at her words. "I...did he..." She stuttered but Octavia cut her off as her hard mask of indifference slid back into place.

"I'm starting to feel a little tired. I know my way back to the quarters." She said crisply, but her voice still thick with emotion and she nodded her goodbye as she slipped out the doors before Clarke could say anything further.

It took Clarke a little while to shake what Octavia had said so she could focus on finishing the packing of the last crate. It was getting late and she was just as tire as Octavia must have been, but she figured it would be safe to head back to her quarters at this point, shutting the lights down and locking the doors to the infirmary.

As she made her way to where the crew quarters were located, she could hear Bellamy's voice echoing down one of the side hallways where his room was, raised in an argument. "Are you going to at least clue me in as to why you are avoiding me?! I think you owe me at least that much!" And his voice was silenced by the metallic thud of a door closing.

She froze in her tracks, mind churning over the hurt she heard in his voice. She assumed he had been talking to Echo and trying to change her mind over some decision she had made. She fleetingly wondered if her conversation with Echo and Madi back in Shadow Valley had some impact as she had avoided Clarke all-together prior to going under cryo since then. And as that thought flitted across her mind, she shook her head and continued on to her room.

Bellamy had woken Octavia first knowing that even though there was hurt and distance between them it would still be less difficult waking her than he figured waking Echo would be. Even though he figured she would remain distant to him, he wasn't prepared for how cold Echo was to him when he did wake her. When she found out about Harper and Monty staying awake, and ultimately giving their lives for the rest to find this planet, she turned to Emori in her grief and flinched at his touch as she cried on Emori's shoulder.

The stonewalling had finally gotten to him to the point that he had followed her to her assigned quarters at the end of the day and lost his temper at her when she told him she had nothing to say to him. But she had looked horrified and gestured for him to enter her quarters when he yelled while looking down the hall for anyone that could have overheard him.

When the door shut she turned on him, eyes flashing with hurt and anger, "I owe you? _I owe you_?!" she hissed back at him and started to pace, as he stared at her in surprise, mouth open. "Six years I spent with Monty and Harper and I am left in cryo while everyone is woken up, including Miller? _You_ owed _me_ more than that Bellamy!" She threw back at him, seething in her rage and fighting the tears that were on the edge, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry again.

There was so much more than just him leaving her in cryo for a month while all the others where woken up, it just happened to be the most recent thing. She always heard the others talked about how Clarke and Bellamy were a force when together, she had seen it with her own eyes, but after the ring, after they had found each other, Echo had always thought her importance in Bellamy's eyes had moved to the forefront. Then Madi showed up and told them that Clarke was alive. He didn't even look back, and when it came down to Clarke's life, he poisoned his own sister to save her, when all he did was argue with Octavia to keep her from banishment.

Bellamy watched as the emotions flashed in Echo's eyes and suddenly her shoulders sagged and she looked exhausted. He didn't even know what to say to her considering how he was feeling about Clarke since they left Earth, but for some reason he wanted to know why she had distanced herself before his feelings had come to the surface for Clarke. Right now in this moment though, everything she had said was true, he did owe her more than leaving her asleep because of not knowing what to say to her.

He sighed and sat on the end of the bed, "You're right." He said quietly, resting his elbows on his knees and staring at the floor. "I should have woken you."

Echo leaned against the wall and hugged herself tightly, "She needed you more." She said in a resigned tone, adding, "And you need her."

Bellamy looked up at her confused, "What do you mean?" He asked feeling completely lost by what she was saying.

She walked over to the door and opened it as a gesture for him to leave, still hugging herself tightly, "Clarke. She will always come before me because she needs you more." She clarified quietly waiting for him to leave. "And, you aren't whole without her. We were always haunted by the ghost of her on the ring Which I could deal with, but now, I'm not going to fight the real thing."

He stood him, heart heavy knowing that he hurt her, "I am truly sorry Echo. You deserve better than this." He replied back, walking through the door.

Echo swallowed hard against her emotions and looked up at him, her anger resurfacing, "I do deserve better, which is why I will be okay." She said bitterly at him as she stepped out of the doorway letting it close between them and then she finally let the tears fall as she sat alone in her room.

Bellamy swiped at the tears that made their way down his face as he walked back to his room. He cared for Echo very deeply and even though it wasn't fair to either of them to keep going with their relationship, it still hurt to let it go. Getting into his room, he flopped down on his bed cringing a bit as a his ribs reminded him they weren't quite healed. This, like his ribs was going to take time to heal and get through, but unfortunately they didn't have the luxury of giving each other the space to do that. In two short days they were going to be shuttling down to an unknown planet to face who knows what, while needing to work as a team. And with that cheery thought he flipped over on his uninjured side and shut his light out.

Morning with eight more people around was much busier and a little more overwhelming for Jordan. It had taken him the better part of a month to get used to the original eight, but now their numbers had doubled and he found himself running into someone everywhere he went. By the time lunch rolled around he decided to sneak away down to the cryo chambers for a little peace and quiet, but ran into Murphy who was laying in one of the empty pods reading a book.

"Oh, sorry." Jordan said, letting the disappointment leech into his voice. "I didn't think anyone would be here." He added turning to leave while wracking his brain trying to figure out another place for some peace and quite.

"Whoa, hey, hold on kid." Murphy said sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the pod. "You looking for some quiet?" He added, hopping down.

Jordan turned back eyeing Murphy, waiting for a sarcastic jab, but when he said nothing further, "Um, yeah. It's going to take some time to get used to more people." He said feeling a little foolish.

"All yours then." Murphy said with a lopsided grin. "Don't use pod sixteen though, it smells funny in there." And he walked out smacking his book into Jordan's chest so he had to keep it from falling.

Jordan caught the book and looked down at the cover that read Macbeth in bold lettering and he chuckled lightly before walking over to sit between a couple of the empty pods and flipped through the first few pages of the book.

Murphy made his way back to the shuttle bay hoping that Emori had cooled off since their last argument. He had made a some dumb crack and had regretted it as soon as it came out of his mouth, but it was to late and he finally had left for the cryo to give her some space before she took his head off. He thought he was getting better at keeping his mouth shut, but they still seemed to be getting into just as many disagreements as when they were on the ring.

He walked around looking for her noticing that Raven was completing the last of her checks on the systems. "She's over in the cargo hold if you are looking to apologise." She said not even looking up from her screen at Murphy as he poked his head through the bridge door.

He scowled at the back of her head as she was bent over her screens, "Who said I needed to?" He retorted.

Raven's head lifted and she turned in her seat to look at him, "When do you not say something stupid?" She shot right back grinning at him as he rolled his eyes at her and she laughed. "You are learning though, I will give you that. If you keep this up, you guys might be able to go agreement free for a day in another ten years."

Murphy glared at her, "Screw you Raven." He said and left down the hall to her laughter as he grumbled to himself.

Raven turned back to her screens laughing lightly as she continued on with her work. She had already checked everything once, but she wanted to make sure there was no margin for error since they were leaving almost all of the people on the ship in cryo. They needed to be able to get back to the ship and back down multiple times without the dense layer of the atmosphere wreaking havoc on the electrical systems, causing them to plummet from the sky.

To top things off she figured that they wouldn't put the only two pilots on the same flight so she was fighting to focus on her task when she knew as soon as it was done her and Shaw were going to be separated and most likely one of them would be put in danger. As she was focused on that, she heard his voice as he walked into the command center talking to himself about the numbers from the test he ran.

"Raven, I think we should double check the forward insulation. I'm not liking…Oof!" He said as she slammed into him in a crushing hug. He wiggled his work tablet out from where she had pinned it between them and wrapped his arms around her waist chuckling. "Not that I am complaining, but what's with this?" He asked face against her shoulder as she squeezed him tightly.

"Just shut up and hold me." She said softly in his ear, voice choking with emotion, fighting the fear that was threatening to bubble over from inside of her. She had loved exactly two people in her life and the last time it had ended very badly for Finn and with that thought she couldn't stifle a sob that worked it's way out.

"Hey, hey, hey….whoa," Shaw soothed pulling back to take her face in his hands and get a good look at her tear streaked face. He knew exactly where this was coming from as they always seemed to be thinking the same thing. "One day at a time, okay. I am a survivor and you have survived more than anyone. Shhhhh.….." He soothed as he wiped away her tears with his thumbs. As he watched her gain control of her fears and smooth her features.

"You're right. Okay, I'm good." She finally said taking a deep breath and forcing a smile on her face as he smoothed away the last of the tears.

"No, you are the best I have ever seen." He said with a smile, then got very serious. His heart slammed against his chest and he knew he didn't want to wait any more. "Before it becomes a cliché moment," he started and felt his hands tremble a little. "I just want you to know that I love you."

Raven felt as if the air was sucked out of the room as the words hit her. It's not like she didn't already know it, or that she didn't love him too, but somehow him saying it made it real and so much scarier with what they were facing. They had never discussed Finn or details of her past, but he had gotten enough to realize there was more to her story and she couldn't help the tears that welled up in her eyes as he held her face tenderly, "Don't you go and do anything stupid, cause I love you too."

He smiled and kissed her, "I can't promise anything." He teased then pulled back a little as he heard footsteps coming. "Pick this up later?" he added, eyes twinkling.

"You better believe it." Raven whispered back as the doors to the bridge opened and Clarke walked in coffee in one hand and tablet in the other.

"Oh, Sorry guys. I can come back." She said looking up at Raven and Shaw in each other's arms and stopping in her tracks.

Raven laughed a little and moved away reluctantly from Shaw, "It's all good. You need something?" She asked sliding over to the console and sitting down.

"Just wanted to know how it was going. I am going to double check on the medical supplies then meet Bellamy on the bridge to go over the final details before our radio with Krass." She said distracted, going over something on her tablet. She was trying to keep herself busy so she wouldn't think about how she overheard Bellamy yelling last night.

Raven conferred with Shaw for a moment, "Looks good on our end. She should have our final checks done early tomorrow so we can keep our expected departure time the same." She said nodding at Shaw for confirmation.

Clarke nodded at the two then head out to the cargo bay where Emori and Murphy were supposed to be securing the final medical crates she filled last night. As she walked down the ramp she froze in her tracks as she heard a soft moan, followed by a soft voice that she immediately recognized as Murphy. It seemed that it wasn't just Shaw and Raven feeling the impending stress of danger and Clarke decided to tiptoe away, allowing them to have their deserved time with a slight smile on her face. Emori and Murphy seemed to be like fire and oil, but she was good for him and everyone was noticing the change in his behaviour the last couple weeks.

She made her way out of the drop ship focused on the numbers on her tablet, heading to the bridge when she turned a corner and ran straight into Echo, spilling her now cooled coffee over them both and her tablet. "Ah, Shit!" She swore, shaking the coffee off her hands and tablet. "Oh, I'm sorry Echo!" She added finally looking up to see who she ran into.

Echo just wiped off the coffee as much as she could before mumbling, "It's fine." and rushing off in the opposite direction without another word.

Clarke just stood in the hall for a second looking after her, coffee dripping off her hands with a stunned and confused look on her face. Her brain started going as a small spark of hope crept into the back of her mind, but she stuffed it down, shook off the last of the coffee and headed off towards the bridge, as suddenly the ship was starting to feel very small.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! I had fun with this chapter and indulged my paramedic background from years ago. I hope it rings true. I just wanted to say Thank you again for the reviews and a little note to** ** _Lilliangoes_** **as I can't send you a message privately...what an incredibly humbling review and I hope to continue to live up to such high praise. That also goes for everyone who keeps coming back when I post a new chapter. Keep up the reviews, please! I have done some brainstorming this weekend and this story is going to develope into something way longer than I originally thought because of you readers! Hang on...I have a plan...**

Chapter XI

Everyone that had been assigned to go to the surface had been strapped in and ready to go as Shaw counted down to their launch. Raven was on the bridge with a fuming Jordan who had argued bitterly with Clarke and Bellamy about being left behind with Raven and Emori. It wasn't until Raven explained his skills were crucial on the ship if they needed to retro-fit and send another probe down with repair supplies if something went wrong with the drop ship on re-entry, that he relented his argument.

Murphy and Emori said their goodbyes quietly as Emori was a natural right hand to help Raven and Murphy could do any work on the electrical systems if something got fried. Clarke, Bellamy and Madi where all on the bridge with Shaw and Murphy as the security contingent were strapped in with the cargo. Indra, Echo, Octavia and Miller were partnered with four others that would give the diplomatic side of their trip some backup.

Bellamy had arranged a rendezvous point with Krass and what he was calling his Welcoming Committee, which immediately put both Clarke and Bellamy on edge before Shaw fired up the shuttle and exited the ship. Clarke gripped the handles of her seat and looked over at Madi in one of the jump seats they had put a five point harness system in and tried to smile as they started their decent into the atmosphere.

Shaw called out the numbers to Raven as the ship progressively began to shake harder with it's entry into the dense upper layer and everyone held their collective breaths as Shaw fought with the controls. There was a lurch and intense shake as the ship went completely dark, all systems dead, and a fire started in one of the panels beside Madi.

Shaw barked orders at Murphy and Clarke struggled with her harness system as Madi yelled for her while the ship was in a spinning free fall making them weightless. Before she could get free she looked wildly up to see Bellamy at Madi's side putting out the fire while Shaw and Murphy hollered at him to get back strapped in. Time slowed for Clarke as she watched the scene play out in front of her. Bellamy floating in the antigravity of freefall, one foot anchored on Madi's chair as he put out the last of the fire with an extinguisher, the bridge filling with smoke and fog, while Shaw and Murphy's voiced echoed in the distance about systems coming back online.

Bellamy locked eyes for a split second with Clarke as if he knew, and then time resumed as the lights came on and thrusters fired, sending him hurtling across the bridge passed Clarke and slamming him with a sickening sound against the wall behind her as the ship continued to shake and rattle. Clarke tried to twist in her seat, but she couldn't see Bellamy at all, and all she could hear was someone screaming his name. Suddenly, she realized the voice she heard repeating his name desperately was her own and then she saw Madi's face, eyes wide and face pale, silent tears falling down her cheeks.

It took Shaw ten more minutes to begin the landing sequence and it felt like and eternity passing as Clarke prayed that she wouldn't find Bellamy dead when she got out of her chair. As soon as the flight pattern stabilized Clarke locked eyes on Shaw and he nodded she was a go to get out of her seat and her desperation was renewed with purpose. Her hands flew to her harness unlocking it and she scrambled out of her seat to the med kit before even looking in Bellamy's direction for fear of hesitation.

When she turned she saw the scene that Madi had been looking at and her stomach dropped. The wall above where Bellamy was crumpled and all dented in with the force of his body slamming into it. He was facing the wall on his side with his top leg laying on the bottom one with a large lump that seemed unnatural and a small pool of blood was making its way steadily bigger out from under his head.

Clarke swallowed hard and crossed the distance between them in a couple steps just to feel Madi right at her side a moment later. Clarke leaned over his body till her cheek was almost on his and she put her hand on his back and shut her eyes tight listening and feeling for him breathing and any sounds coming from him. Relief flooded through her as she felt his ribs rise and fall in a quick rate against her hand and she couldn't hear any concerning noises as he was breathing.

"Bellamy? Can you hear me?" She pleaded as she kept her hand on his back feeling his breathing. There was no response and she sat up looking at and anxious Madi. "He's breathing." She said to the girl and Madi slumped over in joy, leaning into Clarke for a second.

"Hold on. We are landing." Shaw announced focusing on his controls.

Clarke slid closer to Bellamy's back, providing support to his position and motioned to Madi to get low on the floor to hold his head. There was a jarring thud and the ship settled and Clarke went to work keeping Madi in place at Bellamy's head. She counted with Madi and they rolled him as a unit onto his back after Clarke padded his back down looking for any obvious injuries.

When they got him on his back Clarke immediately saw the source of the pool of blood. He had a four-inch gash that ran from just above his left eye top into his hair line and it was trickling blood at a steady rate. She flagged Murphy over, handing him a bandage and had him apply pressure before she moved down checking each area of his body thoroughly. As she got to his chest she heard the bridge door his open.

"Oh my God! What happened?" Clarke heard, as Echo sprinted over skidding to a stop on her knees just behind Clarke, grabbing Bellamy's hand. Octavia's presence seemed to regain its commanding size letting everyone know she was hovering close by her brother.

"He was thrown putting out a fire. I'm just checking him out but he was knocked out." She said matter-of-factly as she continued to feel his chest.

As she got to his left ribs she felt movement and crunching and immediately stopped her palpitations to lift his shirt. There was a massive bruise already starting and there was a section that was crunching as he breathed in and out.

"Shit!" She said, all calm momentarily gone as she turned and rifled through the med bag, grabbing a roll of tape and tightly binding his ribs in place before moving on to the rest of her assessments. When she padded down to his right knee it had an odd lump and shape to it, and she ripped open his pants to see his right knee cap had been dislocated, but circulation still seemed good.

Feeling as if she was under a microscope she briefly looked up to see eleven sets of eyes flicking back and forth between her and Bellamy. "Okay, out, everyone other than those holding something on him." She barked before grabbing her small flash light and moving up to Bellamy's head again.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Echo stiffen, and slowly get up as she left with the others, but Clarke didn't have time to worry about that as she checked his pupils until she saw Octavia hovering at the back of the bridge. She caught her worried look and nodded, not sending her out with the others and went back to checking his pupils. She relaxed a little as they both responded normally under her light and looked up at Madi with a slight smile "Looks like he has a good concussion. I didn't feel anything wrong with his neck so for now you can let go." And Madi straightened up thankfully, stretching her back as she moved out of the way for Clarke to look at the cut on his head.

The bleeding had already slowed and was just oozing a bit from the cut. It would need stitching, but otherwise seemed okay so she added another bandage and instructed Murphy to keep pressure on it. Leaning down, she cupped his cheek in her hand, "Bellamy, come on." She pleaded, "Please wake up." When there was no response she went back to check on his ribs and where she had stabilized it making sure the rib ends weren't rubbing.

Shaw got on the Laser comms to let Raven know what happened and then started to assess the damaged section of panels where Madi had been sitting. His stomach was sick with the thought that for all their checks they had missed something and started to tear the burnt electronics out savagely in his frustration.

Clarkes eyes flicked briefly over to where Shaw was ripping out electronics, "You okay over there?" She called over to him and he briefly stopped to look at her with pain and frustration in his eyes. "He's going to be okay. You and Raven did everything you could to shield the ship." She said when he didn't respond keeping his eyes locked to hers as she said it to emphasize her point.

He slowly nodded at her and turned back to the panel working slowly through each system as Clarke went back to Bellamy, rechecking everything. When she got to his dislocated knee cap she looked up to Madi. "I need Miller and Indra so I can pop this back in while he's still out."

Madi nodded and trotted off to go get them, but just as she got out the door, Clarke heard a soft groan that shifted her attention back to Bellamy. His eyes fluttered open slowly as he grimaced, another soft groan escaping his lips and Clarke could feel Octavia hovering closer as she chewed on her nails.

Clarke leaned over him, relief flooding through her and she caught Murphy's face as he broke into a small smile and Bellamy's eyes searched quickly finding her face. "Hey, don't move." She ordered him slowly as he tried to shift away from where Murphy was applying pressure to his head. He immediately froze his movements and his breathing caught while his eyes closed as the pain started to register. "Tell me where it hurts." Clarke said gently smoothing a piece of hair away from his face.

"Um, my head hurts and the floor doesn't seem to be stable under me" He started keeping his eyes closed and his face grimacing with the pain. "My ribs, and I can't take a deep breath. And my right leg. What happened?" He asked voice strained with the effort of keeping his breathing shallow.

"You were thrown when we had the systems reboot after we passed through the dense layer." Clark said looking up at the door as she heard Madi come back with Miller and Indra. "You have dislocated your knee cap and I need to put it back in." And she motioned for Indra and Miller to come over and hold him carefully. They lifted his knee at a ninety-degree angle at hip and knee and Clarke leaned down hovering above Bellamy's face. She cupped his cheek and his eyes opened pleading silently to make it quick as she stroked her thumb across his cheek. "I'm sorry," she said softly adding, "This is going to hurt."

Bellamy focused on her blue eyes and the confidence and strength she showed him as his whole body ached and nodded almost imperceptibly to go ahead and pop the knee cap back in. He braced himself, clenching his teeth together, and reached out to find Clarks free hand as she straightened up and counted. When they got to three she squeezed his hand briefly and let it go as he felt them lower his leg, straightening it as Clarke forced the knee cap back towards the inside of his leg. There was a fierce burning pain, then a sickening pop and relief, and he couldn't help groaning loudly as the tears squeezed out and fell while he fought a wave of nausea.

As soon as it was back in, Clarke was back up at his head, gripping his hand again while wiping his tears away as he panted, trying not to breath too deep as his ribs screamed at him. As she stroked his hair, softly telling him it was done, he remembered how she was with Adam when they found him in the woods after the acid fog. He opened his pain filled eyes and looked at her, "You better not be getting ready to put me out of my misery after making me go through that pain." He said failing miserably at trying to crack a joke.

Clarke quickly caught his reference and frowned at his black humor, "Never. I couldn't." She said simply as her emotions flashed briefly in her eyes and her hand stilled in his hair momentarily.

Bellamy caught her look and even through his pain he felt himself flush at what he thought he saw cross her face. His head started to throb harder and he flicked his eyes up to Murphy. "You don't need to crush my head into the floor." He said successfully making everyone chuckle this time.

Murphy huffed out a small laugh and let up on some of the pressure, "Not possible, you head is to damn hard." He responded relaxing a little, realizing how worried he was for Bellamy.

With the exchange Clarke moved to Bellamy's head and checked the gash. The bleeding had stopped and she fished out fresh bandages, replacing the blood-soaked ones, and used a canteen to clean up some of the blood from his face and hair before wrapping his head. "I can stitch this in a bit, but you've fractured your ribs again though." She said catching his look as she tended to him.

Octavia hovered a little closer and Clarke looked up at her. "He's going to be just fine. Maybe you can help me to get him sitting?" she said taking pity on her worried look. She crossed the room quickly and crouched down beside him.

They carefully maneuvered him into a seated position, the adrenaline of the landing starting to wear off, reality of the situation sinking in. They were on the ground, and in basically one piece and everyone stared to look at each other, the excitement building in the room.

"I'm obviously not going anywhere, but if Shaw radioed Raven, then Krass knows our situation too." Bellamy started, turning on a tone of authority, getting everyone's attention. His eyes moved to Shaw and he nodded to say he had told Raven their situation.

Madi moved to get the rest of the group in the room so they could reassess their plan now that Bellamy wasn't going to be able to move off the drop ship. Once Echo entered the room her whole demeanor relaxed as she locked eyes with Bellamy, seeing he was awake and sitting upright. He nodded at her as if to say he was okay and then moved his attention back to the whole group.

It took about 20 minutes to hash out a plan for the delegation committee, but eventually it was decided that Clarke, Madi, Indra and Echo would go to meet The Colony's welcoming committee, that way they would have backup if things went sideways. The rest would stay back with the ship and all communication would be in grounder so that Krass and The Colony couldn't understand the conversation.

With that, and some serious arguments from Clarke, it was decided that everyone was going to go and step foot on the new planet, and the excitement became palpable. Octavia and Clarke helped Bellamy up and they all made their way to the drop ramp as Shaw pulled the lever. Everyone held their breath as the door slowly opened, Miller standing beside Clarke, and they all felt an odd sense of déjà vu while squinting at the sunlight streaming in as the door opened slowly like it did on the drop ship so many years ago.

The sweet smell of damp earth hit them first as a soft cool breeze wafted in through the opening ruffling clothes and hair. It seemed to happen organically, but everyone seemed to hesitate till Clarke and Octavia moved forward with Bellamy between them, Miller slightly behind with the rest on his heals. Bellamy couldn't help but look up at Octavia as they got to the end of the ramp remembering the moment she was the first of the original 100 to step foot on Earth, and the three of them stepped off the end of the ramp at the same time grins spreading across their faces, as the past seemed to be wiped away, just for that moment.

There was a humidity in the air and the trees were lush and green with vegetation everywhere with the sounds of insects in the air. They had landed just at the edge of a small clearing and everything smelled fresh and new. Clarke closed her eyes and she could slowly pick out different scents, the bark on the tree to her right, the wet, spongy dirt under her feet, a faint odour of fuel from the drop ship. As she focused the noise of the others slowly faded as the breeze whispered across her face and she became acutely aware of something else. Heat, she felt heat, and it wasn't just from the air around her, even though it was warm on the surface. It was from the heavy arm draped over her shoulder and the firm presence beside her as he stumbled slightly.

Bellamy took in the planet around him with awe and wonder carefully tilting his head up to see the trees on the edge of the clearing towering far above them until they tilted as a wave of dizziness hit and he teetered to the side stumbling between Clarke and Octavia. He looked down slowly to find both Clarke and Octavia looking up at him with a worried expression.

"I'm okay, really. I just need to sit down." He said as both women studied him closely, holding him up as he sagged a little.

Clarke saw Echo turn out of the corner of her eye and caught her hurt and concerned expression before she turned away and busied herself with one the other people exploring the foliage. Clarke helped Bellamy over to a mound of dirt and helped him down to lean against it.

"This seems oddly familiar." He chuckled closing his eyes at the pain that burned through his ribs. It took him a few moments before he looked up at Clarke's worried expression. "You should radio Krass and let him know there's a change in the plan and we can do the meet tomorrow." He added trying to sound normal as he breathed through the pain and nausea.

Octavia was distracted by the others laughing and exploring, but Clarke focused in on Bellamy. His face was pale with beads of sweat forming on his forehead and bridge of his nose, his breathing coming in short gasps. She crouched down beside him, taking the inside of his wrist to check his pulse, "Bellamy, you don't look so good." She said trying not to let the worry creep into her voice.

Bellamy huffed a little, "Oh, gee, thanks." And quickly followed it with, "Ow, don't make me laugh." He wrapped his hand around his ribs to help keep the pain down, inadvertently pulling her arm across his chest, pulling her face down by his shoulder.

Clarke quickly noticed his pulse spike as she counted and her eyes searched his momentarily, "Is the pain getting to bad?" She asked worried again.

Bellamy felt hot and wanted to laugh again at her question, "Not exactly." Was his only retort as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Clarke became hyper aware for a moment, and sat up, put off balance by his closeness all of a sudden. "Oh, um, okay. Well if it does I can get you something for the pain. I'm going to go radio Krass." She finished with a mumble and got up quickly walking off as Octavia turned her focus back to Bellamy.

She crouched down where Clarke had been and eyed him carefully as he watched Clarke walk away, "Oh, big brother…" she breathed forgetting their distance in the joy of the moment.

Bellamy looked over at her flushed face, her eyes bright with the excitement of the planet and all it had to show them and a small piece of that distance between them got a little smaller. He saw a brief glimpse of the girl she used to be in the woman beside him and it made his heart ache with hope. "I'm okay. I have a hard head remember?" He said with a light smile assuming that was where she was going with the start of her statement.

She shook her head and chuckled, "Alright." Was all she could say in response as he seemed oblivious to the moment she just witnessed, then sobered as she noticed how pale he was. "Bell, seriously, you don't look so good." And she reflexively wiped her hand across his sweat covered forehead.

Bellamy closed his eyes against another bout of nausea and finally gave in, leaning forward and wretched violently in the grass beside him, gripping his ribs to support them as he continued to vomit. His head throbbed, and the ground rolled under him as he leaned over, Octavia doing what she could to support him.

She looked up just as Echo appeared beside her, face filled with worry as she looked down at Bellamy doubled over on the ground. "Get Clarke." Was all she said turning back to Bellamy as he groaned.

Echo took off running back up the ramp to the bridge where Clarke was on the radio, "We look forward to the meeting tomorrow then at the designated coordinates." And a voice came across the radio in tinny reverb. It was deep and gravely with a tone of harsh authority. "The welcoming delegation is on their way. I look forward to our meeting."

Clarke turned and saw Echo standing in the doorway and the look on her face said all it needed to. She set down the radio and sprinted off right behind Echo.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Same as every previous chapter...**

 **I could spend many chapters having Clarke take care of Bellamy, best the story wouldn't move forward. And i am developing some plots off interviews from NYCC. Hope this one is better for typos, I am making my way through previous chapters to review this as well. If there is something I miss, please let me know. Hope ou like this chapter, and as always...PLEASE leave me review!**

Chapter XII

As the twin suns started to set over the towering trees that surrounded the clearing, Clarke had managed to get Bellamy comfortable in one of the crew quarters with fluids and medication going to help with his nausea and dizziness. She was sitting beside him perched on the edge of the bed, the two of them alone as Octavia had finally been convinced to go and get some food and report to Indra and Madi as to the plan for guarding the drop ship.

"I don't like the idea of you going alone to the meet." Bellamy said to Clarke as he lay with his eyes closed to keep the room from tilting in a way that made his stomach do flips.

"We don't really have a choice." Clarke retorted, inwardly annoyed and flattered he was being protective as he used to be. "We need to meet and we all agreed it was better at a neutral location and not here." She added, playing with a thread on her sleeve and starting to feel the fatigue of the days events closing around her. She peaked down at him and started to feel the bubble of emotions that the adrenaline had pushed aside.

It had been one thing to think he had died when she closed the drop ship door, or didn't make it to the ring, or even that he didn't survive the pit in Polis, but seeing him thrown so violently and laying on the ground with blood over his face made all of her nightmares seem like small little dreams and she couldn't help the tremble that worked it's way through her system.

Bellamy felt her start to shake where her hip and thigh met his on the bed and he slowly cracked his eyes open a touch to see her hugging herself, head down, breathing quickly as she had been when he woke her from her nightmare. He reached out gently, taking her hand that was hugging her side and pulled it into her lap, "Hey," he whispered gently to get her attention. "Are you okay?" He asked feeling her hand tremble in his.

Clarke felt her emotions swing and she started to laugh at his question unable to help herself, fatigue and stress causing her to have a difficult time getting control of herself. "I'm sorry," she breathed with the last of her laughs and she sobered looking him in the eyes as he had opened them fully and was staring at her with concern all over his face. "That was to close a call." She admitted feeling the trembling start to subside as she focused on his warm, strong hand enveloping hers.

Bellamy didn't know what to say with her admission and his usual self-deprecating jokes seemed out of place in the moment. He just held on to her hand, while looking into her blue eyes that were full of relief and fear. After a few breaths he said, "It will take more than a hit on the head to get rid of me." And he smiled softly. He wanted to take her in his arms and assure her he was going to be okay but it wasn't the time or the place and he was pretty sure if he moved his head he would start vomiting instantly.

Clarke smiled back and fought the urge to lean over and rest her head on his chest. He had always been her base, her best friend and support when she was scared, but it was different now and they had other things they needed to focus on. She gave her head a little shake and the spell of the moment seemed to release. "I, um, I need to get the kits ready for tomorrow and make sure everyone knows the plan." She said, but didn't make any move to let his hand go or leave the room.

Bellamy had to close his eyes again as the throbbing in his head started to pick up. Clarke had stitched up his head when they got him back in the ship and gave him medication to help, but it seemed the longer he kept his eyes open the worse he felt, so he just kept holding her hand, hoping she would stay longer. "How long are the nights here?" He asked vaguely remembering Jordan saying something about them being different than Earth.

"They are longer. About fourteen hours from dusk till dawn. Jordan said something about a slower rotation of the planet." Clarke said still not wanting to leave. "Just so you know, because of your concussion I will be needing to check on you every couple of hours." She mentioned thinking of the longer night ahead.

He groaned in response then added without thinking, "You might as well bunk in here if neither of us are going to get any sleep." As soon as the words came out of his mouth he chastised himself inwardly and refused to look at her.

Clarke felt her pulse jump and she started to sweat with the thought of sharing the small quarters, but it did make sense in a way, and she wrestled internally with all the pros and cons in a matter of seconds. Laughing a little nervously, "I made sure my quarters were next door so I can at least stretch out." She said thankful he was keeping his eyes closed as she was sure her face was flushed.

Bellamy's lips twitched at a smile and he was about to say something further when Murphy came in causing Clarke to pull her hand away as if his was on fire. Bellamy scowled at the interruption as Murphy said, "If you are done monopolizing all of Clarke's time, we could use her on the bridge."

Clarke got up but turned back briefly, "Try to get some rest and I will be back to check on you in a bit." And she followed Murphy out dimming the lights as she went.

Murphy stayed mercifully quiet until they got to the bridge door and put a hand on her arm to stop her. She looked over in surprise and saw how serious Murphy's face was, his eyes shadowed and head lowered in thought, before he raised it to look at her square in the eye.

"He's going to be alright, right?" He asked, voice full of concern and face unsure. It was a brief glimpse of a side to Murphy, Clarke rarely saw, and it touched her to know how deeply he obviously cared for him.

"It will take a few days for the dizziness to go away, and weeks for his ribs, but yeah, he should be fine." She replied and gently covered his hand that was still gripping her arm with a slight sense of desperation.

It felt as if a weight lifted off his shoulders and he looked down briefly at Clarke's small hand covering his in a show of support and his mind came up with multiple snarky retorts, but he shoved them all aside, "Thank you." Was all he said, swallowing around a lump in his throat and then broke contact opening the bridge door.

Clarke shook her head in slight disbelief at the exchange and followed him through the door to see Madi, Indra and Shaw in conversation. "Is there a problem?" She asked sensing the mood in the room.

Madi turned and her look said it all, "You're instincts were right." She said and Clarke moved to take a seat with the others. "We are getting snippets of transmissions over the radio. It seems like there is another group out there other than The Colony."

Clarke's mouth fell open slightly as Shaw continued, "It's in a totally different language than we have ever seen before." He said turning on the speakers. The language was guttural, sounding slightly like grounder, but none of the words were recognisable.

"Why didn't we catch this before?" Clarke asked, straining to catch anything familiar in the sounds she was hearing. "Have they tried to initiate contact?" She added wrapping her head around the new information.

"That's the weird thing," Murphy chimed in, "It's coming through on lower frequencies, but it's almost like it's trying to go through a barrier, like the dense layer." He added flipping some switches, attempting to clear it up. "The reason it wasn't coming through before is, is that it's not on a laser comm frequency. The only reason we heard it was because of some of the comms getting fried in the landing." He explained further.

Clarke frowned as she puzzled on it and a thought struck her, "These people came here with relatively advanced technology and have been here for probably close to 700 years, could they have some kind of jamming device?" She asked, more thinking out loud than actually asking the question.

Shaw started to nod and she could see the wheels turning as he thought it through, "It's entirely possible. Who knows what kind of tech they have. They had cryo and some kind of terra-forming." He said reasoning as his mind chewed on it further.

Clarke shared a look with Madi, silently and she nodded, "See if you can cut through and try a message." I don't want to walk to a meeting with only half the information." She said to Shaw and Murphy who immediately got to work, but she stopped them, "Radio Raven and have Murphy fill her in in grounder, get her working on the problem too." And she got up signaling to Madi and Indra to follow.

Clarke heard Murphy grumble as they left, "My grounder sucks." To which Shaw retorted, "Better than mine, man." And they both were chuckling as the door closed.

Once out of the bridge Madi turned on her, "I don't think it's a good idea Clarke, but it's the best course of action." She knew what Clarke was thinking even before she put forward the plan.

Indra looked at the two briefly and offered her thoughts, "Echo and Miller would be the best choice." She said and the other two turn, surprised. "If you want to send someone out to see if they can make contact or through a suspected barrier, they would be the natural choice." She added matter-of-factly.

Clarke just smiled at Indra lightly as her mind briefly flashed at how far they had come from their first meeting. "I don't like having two of our own exposed and alone on a planet we know nothing about, but it seems we aren't being clued into a big part of the puzzle here." She said and they continued to walk to the crew quarters.

"Indra and I will go fill in the others and have Echo and Miller set to leave at dawn. You get some sleep, it's going to be a long hike tomorrow to meet with Krass." Madi ordered Clarke with decisiveness.

Clarke raised an eyebrow at the girl and her mouth twitched up on the one side, "As you command Heda." And she chuckled.

Madi smiled and raised up on her toes, grasping Clarke's face between her hands, drawing Clarke's head down to rest her forehead against her own. "Goodnight Clarke. I love you." She said, continuing their goodnight ritual.

"Goodnight my little Natbleda, I love you too." She said and looked to Indra, "Night." Indra nodded with a wistful look at the two and turned to head to the cargo bay where the others were gathered.

Clarke watched Madi follow Indra, then turned and stopped before going into her room, she figured she should check on Bellamy and if he was awake, if he was she would fill him in on what the plan was. He wasn't going to like sending Echo with Miller, but it was better than send her with Octavia, and she slipped into his darkened room.

It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust before she could make out Bellamy's form, face up on the bed, the bandage on his head practically glowing in contrast against his black hair. His eyes were closed and his breathing was regular and slow as Clarke watched the one arm he had draped across his chest rise and fall in a regular pattern. She tiptoed over to the bed, checking his IV fluid levels and the slow drip medication, then gently took his wrist in her fingers, deftly finding his pulse and started to count as she watched the clock on the wall.

Bellamy had heard his door hiss open, then close while he was in a pre-sleep state. He was vaguely aware of his surroundings and the presence of Clarke in the room, but everything seemed very far away. Until she touched him, and his body snapped to fully awake, but he stayed still as he felt her small hand wrapping around his wrist.

Clarke relaxed a little as she finished her count, happy with his numbers and looked down at his smoothed features. His hair was a wild mess of curls floating softly around his features with some stray pieces falling over the bandage above his left eye and her hand move, almost with a mind of its own, and smoothed back the silky curls.

Bellamy felt he hand slip off his wrist and then move through his hair above his eye and slightly thanked the Gods that she wasn't still feeling his pulse as it picked up a bit at the intimate gesture. He fought to stay still as she smoothed his hair not wanting to break the moment, but wishing he could turn his face into her hand. There must have been a slight shift as he heard her sigh and the bed shift slightly under her weight as she sat down where she had been before.

He slowly cracked open his eyes, testing the light level before fully opening them. She had left the lights low and he was able to open his eyes fully and blinked a few times noticing that the pain had decreased to a dull ache and the room was staying put for the time being. She was looking down at her hands, lost in thought, the low light highlighting her blonde hair, casting shadows across her face.

"What's wrong." He said softly, voice cracking a bit from keeping it low to match her mood and she looked up, seemingly not surprised that he was awake.

"How are you feeling?" She asked trying to figure out how to tell him the scout plan. She took in his soft brown eyes as he looked at her with concern.

"Better..." He said drawing out the word carefully waiting for her to tell him what was going on. "What happened Clarke?" he asked again and reached out to put a hand on her leg as a way of encouragement.

"Murphy and Shaw picked up a new radio transmission." She started then launched into details of the new group on the planet. "We have decided to send a scout team." She finished and looked him straight in the eye.

"Echo." He said with a slight knowing nod of his head. He managed the movement without dizziness so he slowly tested turning his head a little to look at Clarke better and managed to have no reaction. "Clarke, it's the smart plan. I don't like it, and I get the feeling you don't either, but it's the smart plan." He said seeing the look on her face of hesitation.

"I just feel like we need to have all the information and we aren't getting that from Krass." She said as if she was trying to justify it to herself.

"It's the right play." He said again softly lost in thought himself. "Can you get Echo for me? I...I would like to speak with her before she goes." He felt the nervous butterflies in his stomach that he had when she left to defect to Diyoza as a spy.

Clarke's heart dropped a little, but she nodded and got up, "I will be right back." And she slipped out before he could say anything or her emotions betrayed her thoughts.

She walked briskly down the hall to the cargo bay and spotted Echo with Miller along the one wall packing up their bags, and she took a breath before walking over. "Echo?" Clarke said as she approached.

Echo turned a little, keeping her eyes focused on her pack, "Yup." She had nothing to say to Clarke and was too tired to deal with anything at the moment.

"Bellamy has asked to see you before you leave." She said keeping her voice low as she could feel a few sets of eyes on her and Echo as they talked.

She looked up slightly surprised at Clarke and fumbled with the ration pack she was holding. "Uh, okay." Was all she could seem to get out as her emotions tumbled through a whole gambit of hope, hurt, anger and disappointment. But she set her pack down and headed out of the cargo bay leaving Clarke standing by her pack awkwardly as she watched her leave.

She walked down the hall to the crew quarters she had seen them carry him to when he had collapsed in the field. She had been so mad for being thrown out of the bridge when he was first hurt that she could barely see straight, but her world seemed to drop away when she turned and saw him doubled over vomiting, white as a ghost on the ground.

When she got to his door she hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath before she went in. The lights were dimmed to almost off and he was propped up slightly on pillows with an IV bag of fluids hanging off to the side and a bandage above his left eye. He looked much better than he did when she saw him last and he was watching her approach, expression guarded.

"Clarke said you wanted to talk to me?" she asked slightly surprised as how bitter her tone sounded to even her own ears and she saw him flinch slightly.

"She said you and Miller are going out on a scouting mission in the morning." He started, not sure exactly what it was that he wanted to say to her.

"Yeah. Something about a possible radio barrier." She made small talk, and shuffled back on forth on her feet. "You're feeling better?" She finally asked, concern getting the better of her.

"Sit….please?" He asked suddenly, desperate for there not to be such a distance between them. She hesitated for a second then sat down with a slight sigh. "I'm feeling a little better, yes." He added quietly.

"Bellamy, what do you want?" Echo said sounding tired. She couldn't look at him. There was too much history and pain right now. This mission would be good. It would help her clear her head and get back to who she really was.

"Echo...I.." Bellamy started and reached out, leaving his hand to hover for a second then put it back on his chest. "I just, wanted to tell you to be careful." He finally huffed out. She had withdrawn and built the wall back up between them. He understood why, but still wanted to make it right regardless.

Echo looked up and regretted it instantly when she saw the pain in his eyes and her anger was sparked. He had no right to be hurt. He was the one that was choosing his 'princess' over her. And she stood up quickly to put more space between them before she started to cry in her frustration. Clearing her throat, she backed up to the door, "I will be careful." She said as a goodbye and slipped out before she had to take any more. As she turned, Clarke was standing at the end of the hall frozen in the spot she had been walking back her room. "All yours." Echo said as she brushed past Clarke in the hall to go finish packing.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: All rights to CW**

 **Okay, so shorter Chapter, but I have some plans...hee...hee. Thank you again for all the encouragement! I reread this chapter a few times to catch any errors, let me know if I missed anything. Keep reviewing! It stokes my creativity to post chapters regularly! You readers are the best ?**

Chapter XIII

Clarke was exhausted from checking in on Bellamy every few hours and her legs were on fire from trudging through the forest after being on the ship and in cryo. They had made good time and were almost at the meet point so they had slowed their pace a bit to take in their surroundings. The trees were massive, some having trunks that must have been 10 feet across at the base with lush vegetation covering everything. They had come across a stream that bubbled through the mossy outcroppings and Clarke took samples for Jackson to test to make sure they could drink the water without treating it or getting sick. The suns were warm, even filtered through the trees and the humidity was steadily rising causing all of them to have a sheen of sweat over their skin.

Echo and Miller had left at dawn in the opposite direction to see if they could find the source of the other radio transmissions or at least find a location where it was clearer. It had taken all night to figure out with limited communication to Jordan and Raven, but they had figured out how to modify a couple of radios to function on the new frequency so Echo and Miller could take one as a beacon and the dropship would have another for means of back up communication. When Clarke left, she had given them strict instructions to get some sleep so they wouldn't be burned out as they still had repairs to make from the entry.

Bellamy had been a total grump as Clarke did her last checks on him and gave one of the guards, that had trained in the bunker under Jackson for a while, some final instructions. He was already stir crazy after only 24 hours of being stuck in his bed and Clarke pitied A.J. if he had to look after Bellamy for any longer length of time, but the original plan was to be back at the drop ship within 48 hours as agreed upon with Krass. They had set times to do radio check ins, while Echo and Miller were going radio silent for their trip, which was planned to be the same length, so they would all meet back up at the ship at the same time.

Clarke, Madi, Indra and Octavia were taking a rest by a small creek about 1km from the rendezvous point and were eating their lunch. "Madi," Clarke called getting the girls attention as she chatted with Octavia. She still naturally gravitated to her even with the history that had happened before going into cryo. "Let me do the talking when we get to the meeting okay?" Clarke asked as she trotted over and sat down, cheeks flushed with the exercise and excitement of the upcoming meeting.

She rolled her eyes as only a child could, "Of course Clarke. Not many people accept young leaders, let alone one as young as me." She said sounding every bit her age at the moment and nothing like the commanders that guided her.

Clarke huffed in irritation but accepted that she knew to keep quite for the time being lest they raise suspicion to Madi having advanced technology. "I just wanted to be clear." She stated, her tone dripping with the annoyance she was feeling.

"We should keep you both between Indra and I." Octavia suggested trying to be helpful and yet not overbearing. Her instincts kept trying to have her take control of the situation instead of be the follower that her current place demanded of her.

"Octavia is right, and no one should go anywhere alone till we get a sense of things." Indra added zoning in an intense look in Madi's direction.

"Fine." Madi said with a slight pout and kept eating her lunch in silence. Suddenly there was the sound of snapping twigs in the branches above them that caught all of their attention and they strained to find where the noises were coming, just as a group of small rodents scrambled around them into the trees.

They were all brown with a plume of white fur on their heads that stood straight up. They were no bigger than a squirrel, but incredibly curious as to the four women and what might be in the crinkling bags they all held that had rations in them.

Madi giggled as one skittered down the trunk of the tree above where she was sitting, hesitating, but curiosity driving it to get closer, "He's so cute!" she squealed and the animal scrambled around the tree trunk just to peek back around at her.

Clarke laughed as she watched Madi peek around the tree at the animal, "Come on, let's go." She said and the all stood causing the animals to scatter back up into the trees with the sudden movement.

"I bet you were wishing you had your sketch book." Madi commented as she bounded up to Clarke, making her laugh lightly.

"I have it all up here." She said and tapped her temple before turning to walk the final stretch to the meeting. Madi bounced off ahead with Indra shortly behind her, keeping a watchful eye on her and the surroundings as Octavia matched Clarke's pace.

"You have really developed a bond with her." She said quietly as they trudged their way over the mossy ground, footsteps muffled by spongy surface.

Clarke thought back to what seemed like a lifetime ago when she found Madi in Shallow Valley, or more to say, when Madi found her and the years they were alone. "She's my family." She just answered simply.

Octavia fell silent for quite a while as they walked, looking up every so often to watch Indra and the girl have small interactions. She appeared so young at the moment, but there was something she couldn't hide under it all, and that's what had alerted Octavia when she first met her. She also saw a lot of Clarke's influence in the girl's mannerisms and confidence and she shot a look to Clarke walking beside her.

"She reminds me a lot of you. I think that was part of the reason why I was threatened by her in the beginning." She said. Ever since Diyoza called her out for enjoying the seduction of power it caused her to take a hard look at who she had become and what she had lost in those six years. It hit her as she was sitting looking at Diyoza, that Lincoln would have been so very disappointed in who she was turning into and this was her chance to make a change.

Clarke looked at Octavia as she walked with mild surprise, as this was the second interaction that she had shown a complete shift in her behaviour and she had a small sliver of hope that she was trying to find her way back to the girl who first step foot on Earth. As they walked a little further, she could feel a shift in the air and a subtle change in Indra, Madi and Octavia.

Without changing her facial expressions or walking gait, Octavia breathed, "We are being watched." and Clarke nodded. They were close now.

Bellamy was restless and agitated as he watched the time tick by second by second. He had tried to get up an hour previous and was on his feet for 20 minutes before he started to have the floor tilt dangerously under him while the nausea picked up to the point that he almost needed medication to keep him from losing his breakfast. He was feeling much better in the darkness of his room, laying back in bed, but he was left with nothing but his thoughts.

There was a knock on his door and a wave of relief swept through him as he said, "Yeah, come in." And Murphy slipped in shutting the door behind him.

"Bored yet?" He said with a sly grin as he plopped down on the end of the bed causing the mattress to shift and a wave of dizziness to hit Bellamy, making him close his eyes. "Oh, sorry." He added sheepishly.

"How's the progress?" He asked keeping his eyes closed as the dizziness eased off. He knew he was being a pest, but there seemed nothing else he was capable of doing at the moment.

"Shaw and I have fixed the panel and narrowed down where we think we need to insulate to prevent further issues." He said casually playing with a tear in his pants.

"Murphy," Bellamy started opening his eyes to look him in the eye, "Thanks for stepping up and being a good guy." He said pitying to convey all seriousness that he felt. Even a month ago he wouldn't have thought that he could have trusted him with this, but he seemed to be turning over a new leaf.

Murphy chuckled, "Well, in all honesty, I've just been waiting for you to do something stupid so I could take over and create chaos." He teased lightly, not wanting to take credit for anything, but added standing up, "Just chill out. I will come back in a bit. A.J. mentioned he found some cards, I will bring them for you."

Bellamy nodded his thanks as Murphy left and headed back to where Shaw was working on the bridge, and he flopped into one of the chairs watching Shaw solder some connections when he piped up keeping his eyes on his work. "You know, you could help instead of just sitting there, watching me." He said with only a slight tone of irritation to his voice.

"Why would I do that when you seem to have it covered?" He shot back with a grin and Shaw smiled. "Seriously, you have it fixed now. Let's go outside and have a look at what's supposed to be our new home." He was feeling just as antsy as Bellamy being cooped up on the ship when everyone else was outside enjoying the sun.

Shaw sighed and peeked over at the digital display clock, "Let's go after the check in. I'm sick of being cooped up too." And he went back to finishing what he was doing. He felt the same draw to check out the planet, but they were keeping things locked up for the time being just to be safe. And he wanted to make sure they could get back up to the ship safely, as he was realizing that he wasn't enjoying being away from Raven.

Raven was pacing like a caged animal since the ship left the hanger bay and was starting to drive Jordan nuts to the point that he was heading down to the cryo bay just to avoid her. He was surprised by the fact that he was missing having so many people around and was still upset that he wasn't able to go with the landing party.

He was Laying in one of the open cryo chambers, reading MacBeth when Emori came in. "Hey, can I hide in here?" she asked peeking out of the door window down the hall in both directions.

Jordan just reached over and hit a button on one of the panels and a cryo chamber opened across from him. "Help yourself." He said and propped himself up on an elbow. "She on a warpath again?" He asked referring to Raven's constant jobs she was finding for them to do, then redo because it wasn't done to her standards, when it was perfectly fine.

Emori sighed and hopped up on the bed, "Yup. It's going to be a very long 48 hours." She said eyeing the book he was reading. "John give you that?" she asked, trying to sound casual. The book had been one of the only things he had left of his father. Somehow someone had it when they got to Earth and it had made its way back to him.

Jordan flipped over the book, studying it a bit. "Yeah, when we all first woke up. I was feeling a little overwhelmed and came down here for quiet. He was down here in one of the pods with it." He smiled at the memory and he never quite knew why Murphy tolerated his constant presence for some reason. He looked up and saw Emori looking slightly confused and in slight awe. "Why? Is there something I should know about this book?" He asked becoming self-conscious.

Emori smoothed her features, "Oh, nothing. I just saw him reading it." She replied and inwardly her heart warmed at his sweet gesture.

"Jordan?! Emori?!" Raven's voice came calling down the hall. "Shit." Emori said and Jordan grinned. "Lay down." he said and hit the button to retract the beds with a wicked grin.

Emori squeaked and flattened herself to the cryo bed with a giggle, "You've been spending to much time with John." She whispered at Jordan, laughing, as both beds shut hiding them from Raven.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it...right, dont want to get sued, so, All rights to CW**

 **Thank you SOOOOO much for those who keep coming back and seem to wait for me to post, not to mention those who have taken time to write a review...hint, hint, nudge, nudge. I will keep trying to post every few days so please, please, PLEASE keep the comments coming. I am not getting into new story territory so I don't want to lose the right feel for each character as I develope this. In saying that...Enjoy the new characters...and here we go!**

Chapter XIV

Echo and Miller had made good time as they worked there way in a sweep pattern from the ship, using the radio like a compass keeping them in a direction where the reception was good, or steadily better. Neither felt the need to make idle conversation either so they walked in companionable silence just speaking to point out something interesting or to adjust their direction.

Echo started to feel more calm and centered the longer they walked as she realized it had been to long since she has really stretched her legs and was out tracking. She missed the quiet and smell of green and dirt mixed with sun and a gentle breeze. It had never been quite as sticky or warm on Earth that she could remember and it didn't take to long before she could feel the trickle of sweat down her neck and back, but this was what she needed. Space, physical movement, and distance between her and Bellamy.

Her head knew that she was the one the pulled away from him first, and he wasn't even around when it happened. Madi and Clarke had been talking in the church and she had just listened. She listened to what Clarke hadn't been saying and what Madi was telling her. On top of that, the way Clarke reacted to hearing Bellamy was alive, and that she _always_ cared for him. She wanted to snap right there, but she managed to keep her feelings in check for fear of pissing off the guard and getting herself shot. Then, on the ship, he pulled her back into the leadership role as if nothing happened, that she didn't leave him to die.

Miller motioned for her to adjust their line and she nodded, momentarily brought out of her thoughts. She took a moment to look where they had gotten to. The trees were thinning out and she could hear some kind of fast moving water in the distance somewhere. She was just hoping they didn't have to cross it though. With the trees thinning out the suns were getting much warmer on their backs and high in the sky. Echo looked over at Miller and could see the sweat trickling down his neck, "Hey, let's stop before we have no more shade and take a break. We have covered some pretty good ground so far."

He nodded and slowed as he approached the next tree, "You think they have met up with The Colony yet?" frowning a little as he squinted off in the distance like he saw something.

Echo followed his gaze for a second and didn't see anything, "Most likely, if not very soon." She responded casually. They had managed a cool, brothers in arms type acquaintance, but he was incredibly guarded, hardly speaking to her. She didn't mind so much, but after being on the ring, she seemed to develop more of a desire to be included other than being the loner. "Feels good to be moving and have open space again." She commented trying to open a bit of conversation.

He just nodded, eating some of his ration pack and downing most of his water. He was just happy to have some kind of purpose. He never quite understood why they woke him, other than being with Jackson. He didn't really serve a purpose on the ship as he didn't know about electronic, or computer code, or engineering. Jackson had taught him a few things medical wise, but they had Clark as back up, so he had just fumbled about for the better part of 2 months not really having anything to do or feeling like he belonged in the group anymore.

He glanced sideways at Echo as she ate quietly and thought about what she had been through. She had been a grounder spy her whole life and then went up to space and lived on the ring for six years, just to come back to Earth and be banished again and then be a part of the group that saved civilization. "So, what do you think of this new planet?"

She slowed her chewing and tried not to convey how surprised she was that he was starting a conversation with her, "Hotter than home." She said offering a little smile and looked up to watch a strange flock of birds fly through the trees. "So much to relearn." She said quietly.

Her comment made him frown, "How so?" He asked genuinely curious as to what she meant.

Echo took a couple minutes to think, "Before, I would track and be on my own for long stretches of time." She started slowly to explain. "Now, every sound of the forest is new, I don't recognise the animal tracks or calls. I can't tell if we are being followed." She downed some water and shrugged as he pondered what she said.

"I guess so. I suppose we will need to rely on instincts for now." He said as a shiver ran down his spine. There was no wind and it was still hot, but the hair on the back of his neck started to raise and he glanced at Echo. All she did was arch her eyebrow at him.

"Well, time to keep moving?" She asked, acting as if nothing had changed and leaned down getting the gun from her pack and moving it to a better position.

Miller caught the movement and followed suit as he packed up his rations and peeked around. Echo may not have recognized the sounds of this forest but she was very familiar with the lack of sound and the flight of birds away from where there was danger.

Clarke slowed with the others as the sound of voices started to filter through the thinning trees. They were supposed to meet Krass and his group in a clearing and camp all together for the 48 hours as they got to know each other. She could pick out higher tones of female voices and the lower males to which sounded like about 8 people in his group. Indra and Octavia flanked Madi and Clarke and they all carried an air or wary calm as movement started to be seen through the trees with the smell of fire and cooking food.

They must have had scouts that had been watching the women approach for the last while, but it wasn't long before there was a whistle and shout that alerted Clarke to the announcement of their official arrival. As they neared a large figure came into view and Clarke could only assume it was Krass. He was taller than the average man, and she estimated him to be close to six foot ten, and somewhere, most likely, in his early 40s with slightly greying, dark brown hair cut short, but just long enough that it winged out a little behind his ears. He had a commanding presence and Clarke took notice that he wasn't lanky for his height, but well muscled as if he did manual labor, not politics, and he wore a tight smile that didn't quite reach his green eyes.

Clarke smiled back at his greeting and the rest of his group hung back, she assumed, so as not to be to over imposing at their arrival. "Lucian Krass, I presume?" She asked to begin introductions, "I'm Clarke Griffen." And she stepped forward, reaching out her hand.

He tilted his head to the side in a curious manner and slowly reached out his hand to her in the same manner. Clarke smiled as he seemed baffled as to what to do with her greeting so she closed the few inches between their hands and gripped his firmly. He smiled at her gesture, "Yes, Lucian Krass. Sorry," he started as Clarke let his hand drop, "I was expecting someone….a little older, I guess." He finished tentatively looking at his hand that she shook with slight curiosity.

His voice was gravelly and smooth at the same time with a slight accent that sounded foreign to Clarke and she could tell that there must be some further languages that must have been spoken by this group. "Hopefully my age won't effect our talks?" She said a little tighter than she meant and saw him tense slightly in response. "Let me introduce my group." She said putting her smile back in place to alleviate the tension she created. "This is Madi, Octavia and Indra." She pointed out one by one.

They nodded their greeting and Krass motioned for his group to come forward. There were six including him, four men and two women, all well built and all taller than average. They approached, the men on his right side and the women on his left. "This is Shaun, Avin, and Bran. And this is Rowan and Taya." He said starting from the outside working in on each side.

Shaun and Bran seemed around Krass's age while Avin appeared to be much younger, in his 20s, maybe, while both of the women couldn't have been much older than Clarke. Shaun bore a striking resemblance to Krass with same green eyes and almost identical hair color, but he had it shorter in almost a brush cut. Bran was the shortest of the men, but still must have been close to six foot seven, and had soft brown eyes, but a wicked scar that ran the length of his right cheekbone and long black hair that was pinned back at the nape of his neck. Avin seemed to hesitate the most with the greeting, looking over the women skeptically. He was nearly as tall as Krass but had white blond shaggy hair that seemed to float around his face almost like a glowing mass, while his bright blue eyes seemed to keep drifting back to Octavia who Clarke could feel was stiffening beside her.

The women were much more open in their postures, Rowan with her dark brown, curly hair that was halfway down her back smiled openly at the group, brown eyes bright and welcoming, while Taya was a female mirror image of Avin, with white blonde hair, fair complexion and striking blue eyes. It was Rowan that piped up, breaking the cycle of nods and hellos, "Where are our manners, you must be tired from you journey. Come, let's get you settled with something to drink." She said and gestured back to the clearing.

Clarke had had a picture in her mind of what the meeting 'camp' would look like, but she never pictured the likes of what they had set up. At each end of the clearing where full structures, almost like houses, but made with some kind of soft green opaque material, big enough to house each group comfortably. The color blended in naturally with the surroundings which was why they didn't immediately notice them when they arrived. In the middle was a large fire area with chairs and behind at the back was a half structure like the ones on the end, open to the fire area with obvious cooking and prep stations.

Krass smiled proudly at Clarke's look as she took in her surroundings. "This is an old settlement site. We keep it in good condition for groups to gather for different festivities. I figured it would suit out needs?" He gestured for them to head in the direction of the closest of the green buildings. When they got to the structure, Clarke noticed that the building was green due to a thin layer of moss covering textured plastic wall that was actually clear. The moss covering it made it so that you couldn't see through where as you would have when it was originally built. She immediately thought of how Monty would have loved to see this and was struck with a lump in her throat that she quickly tried to swallow.

The actual building was rooming with low beds and some small tables to spread out on. "You should be comfortable here for the next couple of days. I will let you get settled and then you can join us for food and refreshment?" Rowan said extending her arm to the inside of the building.

The four women walked in and were left to themselves as they walked around to look at the structure. The air was cooler as the building material seemed to let a breeze through along with a small amount of the filtered sunlight and each bed had soft linens that were made by some kind of hand spun, shiny material. There was a small enclosed latrine room that had a wash basin along with a functioning flush toilet.

Madi flopped down on a bed near Clarke with a small giggle after dropping her pack in front of the little side table that matched one beside each bed. On each table was a small lamp that didn't seem to have a power cord or switch of any sorts and Madi was examining it thoroughly. "This is so exciting!" She said visibly giddy with excitement.

Octavia rolled her eyes and Clarke stifled a laugh, "It's just a lamp Madi." To which Clarke got a dirty look from Madi. She sat on the edge of her bed and rummaged through her pack pulling out the laser comm radio looking at her watch. She made her check in call and added a few details in grounder to clue in Bellamy as to their surroundings and the mood of the welcoming group.

Once that was done, they all freshened up and headed back out to the common area where Bran and Taya were working on the fire pit with some kind of animal roasting over the low flames and hot coals. The other four were in the outdoor kitchen preparing food and setting out platters of multicolored fruits and vegetables with baskets of breads.

As Clarke walked up eyeing all the food Rowan blushed, "Lucian didn't tell me how many were going to be in your party or what you may like to eat so I planned for every eventuality." Clarke smiled openly at her honesty and desire to please.

"It all looks and smells very good, but we may need to be careful how and what we eat until our bodies get used to the food." She said, mind working on the possibilities of becoming sick from the food.

Avin turned from where he was chopping, "You have healing knowledge?" He asked finally showing some kind of interest outside of Octavia.

Clarke nodded carefully, but Madi piped up quickly, "She's basically a doctor." And Clarke shot her a withering look.

"Basically?" Shaun asked walking over with an arm full of dark wood, and dumped them off to the side of what appeared to be a stove of some sorts.

Clarke opened her mouth but Madi cut off anything she was going to say, "She had lots of healing experience but no official training, so she doesn't like to say she's a doctor."

Clarke forced a laughed and put an arm around Madi, squeezing her shoulders hard as to convey that she wasn't happy with the open sharing just yet as Krass kept quiet, just watching the exchange. Clarke looked over Madis head and saw Octavia and Indra watching the group and talking low with Bran and Taya.

"Come, we are all set. Rowan can explain what each item is and you can decide if it's safe for you and your people?" Krass said in his gravely tone. As gruff as he sounded his face was open and inviting, gesturing in welcome to the food loaded table. "I hope your partner is okay after the landing?" Krass asked quietly as the approached the food laden table.

"He will be fine." Clarke responded and went through each item nodding or shaking her head to each item as the went, all loading up their plates as they went then headed to the fire and chairs to sit and eat, no one saying much as they sampled items on their plates, commenting as they went. They took their time eating, making small talk and keeping all topics superficial as they did, just learning small things about each other in the group as the suns began to dip lower in the sky.

Once the food and plates were cleaned up, warm drinks were made and passed out, everyone settled around the fire, happily filled and all contemplative as the flames cracked and popped in the twilight. Clarke looked over and saw Krass watching her over the flames. "How long have your people been here?" She asked finally getting into things.

He leaned back in his chair, the others in the group sipping their mugs and waiting for him to speak as if he was about to launch into a story. "I am sure there has been lots we have lost over the years." He stared keeping Clarke's eye. "But best we can figure is that we have been on this planet for about 580 years." He finally admitted with a sad grin.

Clarke nodded slowly, the air around the fire now charged with the tension of the conversation. She had been thinking for days on the best way to start the conversation without having the focus on them, "We managed to find the files on the Eligis III mission, which is how we made it here." And Krass's group all started chuckling.

"First, over the years the popular name now for the ship that brought us here has changed. We now refer to it as The Arc." He explained and Clarke caught Octavia's curious look.

"I guess it's time we tell our history. I am assuming there wasn't much in that file other than the location of this planet?" He asked sitting up a little straighter as Madi leaned over in her chair stifling a yawn and leaned her head on Clarke's arm as she always did when settling in for one of Clarke's stories.

"Some of the information has been lost or changed over the years, as I said, but most has been recorded fairly accurately." He began and accepted more of the hot drink from Taya as she went around filling everyone's cup. "We don't quite know how it came to be that we were sent here, and really, it doesn't matter. But the original ship had 656 settlers on it from all walks of life, backgrounds and education." His voice was warm as he spoke of the history as if it had been told to him and by him many times.

He went on with the story, starting with the ship crashing on entry as there was no shuttle and they suffered significant losses with only 348 making it out of the wreckage. From there it was a struggle to survive and thrive after scavenging what they could from the wreckage. The ship had become known as The Arc because, along with people they had brought seeds and starter plants for basic plant strains like corn, potatoes, grains, some fruits and vegetables that had been deemed non-invasive, there had also been a store of animal embryos for a few basic species such as cows, horses, sheep and goats. However, when the ship crashed a lot of the equipment had been damaged and it took them much longer to be able to start to grow the animals.

Clarke assumed by the way he described that, that it had taken at least a couple generations to make the animals a reality and she started to wonder about the embryonic capabilities and what it meant for the level of technology they may have at the settlement. Looking around her, there didn't seem to be much to show how extensive they had developed over the years.

Krass had taken a break in his story as it was quite late and Clarke could feel by the regular rise and fall of Madi's chest that she had fallen asleep. "I think we have a lot to absorb for one night." She said politely and he nodded in response.

"Sleep. We have much to discuss tomorrow and I look forward to hearing your story." He said with an implication to his tone that made Clarke's smile tighten as she gently woke Madi and got her moving in the direction of the green structure.

Once inside, the small table lamps emitted a warm, soft glow that acted as small heat producers to take the edge off the chill in the air. Clarke got Madi tucked in and pulled out the radio to check in for the night. She kept it brief in grounder advising there may be more of an advanced technology here than they had originally figured as well as a brief overview of the conversation and evening.

Bellamy had been anxiously waiting to hear they were okay and had a productive meeting to start. He had pushed himself later in the afternoon and ended up stuck in bed again for the better part of the evening which meant he was hovering over the radio, waiting for Clarke's call. He offered his thoughts on what Clarke should say about their history and they briefly discussed how it should be phrased so it didn't come across as they were war hungry or able to make lasting alliances.

As the conversation ended, Octavia put in her comments about their safety and suggested they be more diligent with the drop ship security to be safe. Clarke and Bellamy agreed and they signed off for the night. Putting the radio away, Clarke, Indra and Octavia decided to have a watch shift, with Octavia starting it off. Indra would take over after 4 hours, with Clarke taking the last shift before dawn. As much as they felt secure in their building, they were far from trusting this new group and it had yet to be seen what exactly they were hiding.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: All rights to CW -cause if it were mine, Bellarke would happen**

 **Yet again, I have to say Thank you to those who keep coming back. I have written stories my whole life, but never put them out there for others to see, so thank you for reading...TRUELY! If you are one who keeps coming back, or are brand new to my story, pretty please, drop me a review so I get a sense as to what people are thinking about where I am taking things. Things r just getting interesting so...more to come soon!**

Chapter XV

Echo started to come around, her vision blurry and head feeling heavy, not knowing where she was, only that it was dark and smelled of dirt and plant decay. As she tried to move her head, floor heaved violently under her and she squeezed her eyes shut again breathing rapidly. "Miller?" She said in a cracked voice.

"Ahhhhhgg." Miller responded in a groggy voice and he flopped to the side bumping into Echo.

Echo groaned as Miller's elbow connected with her ribs and she rolled away coming face first with a dirt wall. "Miller? You okay?" She croaked out. Her head was throbbing like it was about to burst and she was thankful it was dark as she was pretty sure any kind of light would have caused her extreme pain. Her mind briefly wondered if this was what Bellamy had felt after hitting the wall, before moving on to trying to figure out where they were.

Her mind went through the series of events that she could remember starting from them stopping for a break under the tree and chatting. They had both realized they were being watched and went for their guns when there was some kind of….flash? Her mind felt fuzzy trying to remember exactly what happened, but there was nothing after that till waking up here.

"Oh, God's!" Miller groaned and rolled into Echo again, "My head is killing me." He said trying to get into an upright position. "This is a very small space." He noted as an afterthought, bumping into Echo again.

"Ouch!" Echo complained getting another elbow in the ribs again. "Seriously, you need to stop that." She grumped, rubbing her ribs.

They managed to wiggle themselves into sitting positions in the narrow space, and Echo started to feel around for their packs and to figure out if there was a back or front to there hole. Her hand eventually came up against the canvas of a bag, "Miller, I have one of out bags," she exclaimed and started to rifle through it. The gun was gone and her shoulders slumped a little.

"I found my bag too, and a wall." He said sounding like he was a few feet away from her. He made his way back to her after finally getting to his feet.

Echo stood as well and stretched her hands up to see if she could feel a ceiling as they were obviously underground since there was no light, sky, or stars. They both walked forward till her hands felt the dirt turn to stone and then some kind of metal gate across the length of there, now, cell.

"This isn't a good sign." Miller said and Echo laughed sarcastically.

"What? And waking up on a dirt floor with a splitting headache was a good indication?" She asked more rhetorically than anything, as she tried to feel her way around the metal bars of the door to find a latch of some sort.

Miller snorted a half laugh in response and she could feel him doing the same thing on the other side of the bars. Just as she found a square box between two of the bars, voices echoed down the hall in a foreign language, and a sliver of light started, progressively getting bigger. They both automatically move to the back of the cell, bags behind them, crouching, waiting for their keepers to show themselves.

The light finally reached the doors and the voices stopped as one of the two crouched in front of the door. There was a rattle of metal and click of the lock first, followed by the creaking of the door opening in towards Echo and Miller. "You awake. Are not hurt?" A heavily accented voice asked in broken English, not stepping into the room.

Echo hesitated a second before answering, "Not hurt. Why did you take us?" She asked as she stood. The figure was almost a foot shorter than her, but she couldn't make out features as they were back lit.

"Good. Come. You not be hurt." The second voice said in a softer tone , and Echo made out a gesture that beckoned them to follow as they started to walk away, the light retreating quickly.

Miller looked at Echo stunned in the dwindling light and shrugged, grabbing his pack and hurrying out the door after the two strangers. Echo huffed in frustration, but grabbed her pack and hurried after him as there was almost no light left to follow by the time she rounded the corner. The halls were a maze of solid rock, the stretched up high above her head and she occasionally caught echoes of other vices drifting down intersecting halls here and there. She tried to remember her path, but after a few minutes gave up as it wouldn't matter since it would only get her back to the dead end of the cell and not out.

Suddenly the hall opened to a huge open cavern lit by soft glowing orbs fastened on various stalactites across the expanse. The cavern looked to be about 200 feet long and almost 100 feet wide with different structures and people milling about doing various activities. Some were human, but the majority were obviously not, including their guides.

They were all around the same height, with arms, legs, hands, feet, but each slightly different from Echo and Miller. They all had long brown or black hair that was pinned back in some fashion from their heavy brow bone that looked like a skin covered rounded mass that went from temple to temple where it thinned into the hair. Their eyes were just like a humans except for the fact that there was no iris, or if there was it was completely black.

Their hands had two large fingers and an opposable thumb with a small hook-like claw on the end of the middle one. They were all clothed like the humans that were mixed in with the group, but it was impossible to tell if they had genders.

Echo and Miller stood rooted to the spot at the opening of the cavern and stared in absolute awe of everything around them, until their guide turned and noticed they hadn't followed. "Come, we show more soon. Come, talk with Archon."

Miller frowned slightly, "Archon? Who is Archon?" He asked wary as their guides kept beckoning them to follow.

The one that had been holding the light became impatient and stalked up to Miller who stepped back into a defensive stance, "Leader." The guide said. "Archon leader." And gestured again to follow as if they didn't have a choice.

Miller glanced at Echo who nodded quickly in agreement to follow, and they continued their trek out of the cavern and down another hall. This one much wider with a gradual increase in the grade and lights spaced out the length so they could see as they went. Echo glanced at Miller and pointed up as if to say they were possibly heading to the surface, and he nodded as he noticed the air becoming warmer and more humid as they went.

They rounded a slow bend and the path got wetter with more foliage on the walls till it was all green. Suddenly there was no roof and the stars littered the full expanse of the sky as they continued walking, the ground leveling out till they reached the door of a building that was tucked back into the foliage.

The guides stopped and gestured for Echo and Miller to enter as they heard talking and laughter on the other side of the door. Echo tentatively placed her hand on the door and began to open it slowly standing off to the side of the door where it was hinged to the frame. Inside there was a boisterous party taking place, and just as they got the door opened a bit, music began, up beat with a lively rhythm and foreign feel, bodies dancing and swaying as they passed the door.

Echo stepped in completely baffled by the whole thing, followed closely by Miller as they took in the party scene in front of them. "HELLO! WELCOME!" boomed a voice and the music and crowned quieted as all turned to stare at Echo and Miller.

Clarke slept surprisingly well on the soft mattress, covered by the paper thin blanket. It had cooled off significantly in the evening hours and Clark had remained fully dressed in anticipation that she would be cold. Within a matter minutes, though she was sweating and had to get up and shed a layer before she was able to settle and fall asleep.

She was woken by Indra softly shaking her shoulder and telling her it was her shift. Clarke looked over at Madi's sleeping form and envied the girl slightly as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched to wake herself up.

All she could hear from the door was the soft sounds of animals and insects along with the gentle breeze that cooled her skin. She tiptoed over back to her bunk and grabbed her jacket and pack, pulling out her small notebook with a piece of charcoal wedged into the binding. Sitting back in the chair at the door, she began to sketch the little squirrel-like animal that had attracted Madi's attention prior to them making it to the meeting.

She used to hunt the same way when she was with Madi for the six years. She had made a blind in a tree and would sketch for hours while listening to the sounds of the forest until she heard what she was hunting approaching. The animal sounds were different, yet the same, creating a soft symphony in the background as she sketched.

She didn't trust these new people but she didn't think they would have any problems or ambushes either, so she relaxed and drew in the chair until the light started to make its way across the horizon. Tossing on her jacket she crept out of the structure and sat at the fire pit to watch the sunrise peek its way above the trees.

As she sat there she heard the soft padding of footsteps approach. "Early riser?" a soft voice asked. She turned to see Bran approaching with two mugs of seaming liquid. He offered her one and sat on the log next to hers.

Clarke nodded her thanks and wrapped her hands around the mug inhaling the spicy scent of the hot drink wafting out of the cup. "We discovered coffee on the ship, but this is good too." she said conversationally, keeping her voice low as to not wake anyone else.

"It's brewed from a root that grows naturally here. We are told it has some mild stimulant properties." He replied off-handedly, staring off at the growing light.

Clarke's brain chewed on the wording of his statement thinking about the other radio transmission they had picked up, but stayed quiet, enjoying the drink. They sat for a little watching the light grow over the trees and start to spread into beautiful hues of pink, then orange and yellow and Clarke couldn't help but sigh a little at the sight.

"How long?" Bran asked looking over and taking in the soft expression on her face. She was a puzzle to him and he was slightly happy to see her sitting alone in the dawn's first light so he could have a chance to speak with her.

"Hmm? Sorry, what was that?" She asked distracted with the color display working its way across the sky.

He smiled and took note that in the dawn light she looked much younger than she presented when they first arrived, and he started to wonder about the young girl who seemed to act as if Clarke was her mother. "The sunrise. How long has it been since you saw one." He repeated clarifying his question.

"Not counting the cryo sleep to get here?" she started eyes, to the sky working it out in her head. "At least a couple months or so, but it's been much longer since I have been able to appreciate it." She said thinking back to her time with Madi.

"No chance to slow down a little?" he stated more than asked with a chuckle. "Especially with kids." he added slightly fishing for some information, but more commenting on his life.

Clarke turned and looked at the man in the now brighter light. His hair that had been tied back yesterday was now lose, falling in soft waves to sit just at his shoulders with small streaks of grey now noticeable as she studied him. His scar on the opposite side of his face hidden from her view and his long lashes blinking over his almond shape brown eyes. It dawned on Clarke that he bore a slight resemblance to Monty and Jordan and her heart clenched in her chest. "You have children?" she asked looking back down at her mug.

He turned, the corner of his mouth turning up in a bit of a smile. "Four. Three boys, and a girl." And his smile turned comical as he arched his eyebrow at her. "Why do you think I agreed to come on a two-day trip to meet strangers from another planet...I needed a break." He said openly laughing now.

Clarke relaxed and laughed him shaking her head, "Four? Wow...that's...unheard of for us." She said before she caught herself, but then decided history on the Arc was a non-issue as he opened his eyes at her in curiosity.

She decided to explain life on the Arc and how there were very strict rules about procreation and family units due to the failing nature of the systems on the space station prior to the trip to Earth. He nodded and listened leaning forward with his interest in what she had to say.

When she was finished, he leaned back a bit and drained the last of his cup before responding, "You definitely lived a challenging life. Would you like some more?" He said standing. Clarke nodded but got up and gestured that she would follow, stretching her legs a little. The hike to the meeting hadn't been overly hard, but her legs weren't used to that type of physical effort and were quite stiff today.

As they reached the kitchen structure Clarke saw movement from the corner of her eye and turned to see Madi making her way over to her as she yawned and stretched. She smiled as Madi approached and said hello to Bran as they started to pull out items from a cooling unit to make breakfast.

"Rowan and Taya are the better cooks, but I can fry up some of this left-over meat and make some porridge?" He asked looking at the pair, and they both nodded, taking their mugs and heading back to the fire pit.

Once out of ear shot Clarke leaned over to Madi, "What's with the flitty child act, I didn't get to ask you last night?" she questioned then tossed some wood on the fire blowing on the embers till they heated and caught the wood with a satisfying crackle.

Madi kept her composure as if Clarke hadn't said anything and kept sipping her cup till she sat back down beside her again. "The commanders thought it a wise course of action. They thought I might be able to get some information that they might not divulge to an adult." She explained simply.

Clarke nodded at the idea, "Where did you want to start?" she asked, noticing Rowan and Taya walking across the field to the kitchen to help Bran. They waved at Clarke and Madi as they made their way, their voices drifting across the clearing as they laughed.

Madi just nodded over in the direction of the women and Clarke nodded in agreement, "Did you see Octavia leave the building this morning?" Madi asked as if the thought just occurred to her.

Clarke turned and looked at her with concern. "No. I didn't." She replied spotting Indra coming out the side of the building. She caught Indra's eyes as they flicked around the clearing as if she was expecting something. Clarke stood and scanned the perimeter of the field and spotted Octavia slipping through the trees on the far side then disappearing again like a ghost as she got near the other building.

Clarke shot Indra a withering and questioning look as she neared. "Perimeter check." Indra said quietly as she came around the logs and stretched her hands to the fire. "We both caught some movement in the woods behind our building as Madi left this morning." She added in low tones, and turned as Bran and Rowan approached.

"Good morning!" Rowan said cheerfully, "We have some breakfast ready if you are hungry?" she offered and handed Indra a mug of the spicy, hot drink.

"Thank you. You have been very generous." Indra said giving a slight bow as she accepted the cup, sniffing the liquid carefully before sipping.

Clarke looked up and watched as Krass strode across the field with a sense of purpose and she tensed at the look on his face, her eyes quickly scanning the fringes of the forest.

"Morning." He started curtly, "I hate to start the morning this way, but it seems there may be something we need to discuss immediately." He said accepting a cup from Rowan with a quick thanks.

Clarke tilted her head at the man and felt her spine straighten as she refused to back down from his large presence. "It seems that a small faction has found out we are meeting here. There was some...resistance to the idea of us meeting like this to discuss the possibility of integration of your group with ours."

"Is that what we are doing here?" Clarke shot back straightening further, feeling Indra at her elbow. "This is a big planet, I am sure we could set down somewhere there would be no contact." She resented the implication that they need this groups permission to land on a planet they came to from the one she just left.

Krass stepped back a bit at her straight forward and openly challenging comment and he chuckled a little as she bristled further, "Easy. The majority of our population believe the arrival of your group could be a mutual beneficial enterprise, but that doesn't negate the issue that there is one particular fanatical group that doesn't agree with the popular opinion." And he turned on a no-nonsense gruff tone as he saw Shaun, Avin and Octavia stride into the clearing on the opposite side as the kitchen unit.

Clarke turned and saw Ocatvia's serious face and her tense posture as she kept pace with the two men. "Whoever it was, they are gone now." She said before the men could report. Shaun walked over to Krass and spoke in hushed tones as the other man leaned in, he brow knit together in concern.

Clarke turned back to Octavia as he was speaking to Indra, "What's going on?" She asked as they looked up at her approach.

Madi was at Clarke's hip, "I radioed to Shaw already, so they are keeping the ship tight for the time being. It looks like there was a group of four that circled around the camp and attempted to approach our building, but Indra and I must have deterred them, as the tracks abruptly changed direction." Octavia explained and as she accepted a hot cup of the hot drink from Madi.

Clarke wheeled at the thought that Madi could possibly have been in danger as she chatted with Bran and her eyes flashed in anger at the man as he avoided her gaze. "Just what is this faction threatening Krass?" Clarke demanded striding up to the man as he talked with Avin and Shaun.

"They want our people to be pure." He stated simply as he shifted his attention from his men back to the petite blonde challenging him. He admired he fierceness and she obviously was in protection mode. He gestured for Rowan, Taya and Bran to bring the breakfast and had Shaun and Avin get a table and chairs. He needed to explain this carefully if he wanted to keep her trust and a casual meal around the fire didn't seem like an option anymore.

Clarke paced in short steps as they set up and were directed to sit. "No more dancing around and lets just talk plainly." She said taking her seat across from Krass. He looked at her and seemed to mull over how to proceed.

"We are in the middle of a civil war." He stated bluntly and Clarke nearly dropped her fork. After all their struggles and all their efforts to do better, to be better, life seemed to see fit that they were going to be tossed in the middle of a war.

"We can't be apart of a war." Clarke said and stood. She wouldn't be drawn into another conflict that could see her people placed in danger.

Krass cut off her exit quickly, "Please, sit. We aren't wanting you to be involved or join forces." He started carefully. "We are just wanting to see if we could have a peaceful interaction for the near future, when we are through this." He said with confidence.

Clarke sat and looked at the man incredulously, "Through this? You are never _through_ with war. Trust me." She said finishing more quietly.

"We are almost there. The tensions are high right now as it has become known to all involved as to your arrival. We have been in peace talks for the better part of a year with minimal conflicts." He said appearing to entreating Clarke to listen. "We are trying to convince them that we are not forming an alliance to strike." He added with an open posture.

Clarke examined him and the others in the group, noting that Bran seemed to avoid any eye contact since this morning's conversations. She looked at Indra, Octavia and then finally Madi, all giving her a nod seemingly knowing her thoughts on the matter. She picked up her fork and Krass seemed to relax a little, "Your hospitality has been beyond measure, but we will respectfully return to our ship after breakfast and discuss this turn in our conversations as a group."

As she looked down to eat she saw his jaw clench and a muscle twitch on the one side. Rowan and Taya appeared to lose all the blood in their face, but ducked their heads and remained quiet. There was more than what he had told her in his speech and she was suddenly anxious to get back to the safety of the ship and Bellamy's counsel.


	16. Chapter 16

**Happy Wednesday all! So, it seems that it was a slow reading day for you all, and a good writing day for me as we saw the first snow flakes try to invade our lovely fall. Thank you again for all the AMAZING support! I am truly humbled by it. I am moving forward in new story territory so I will be totally relying on all of you feed back so keep it coming! Review, review, review...please!**

 **As always: Disclaimer - I own nothing, all rights to CW. (You thought I forgot ?)**

Chapter XVI

Krass barely said anything further as they finished their meal, and the conversation was strained and superficial. Octavia and Indra were tense and stiff beside Clarke, while Madi attempted most of the conversation. Once the meal was finished, they politely helped clean up before excusing themselves to pack up their belongings.

"I really wish you would reconsider leaving our meeting at this point." Krass said as Clarke and the others came out with their packs. He was stiff and imposing, coming close to Clarke, towering over her as he made his comment, almost threatening.

Clarke straightened up, yet again meeting his attempt to pressure her by sheer presence, "We are a community, and as such with you being involved in a conflict that could put our people at risk, we need to seriously discuss how we want to proceed." Clarke added a firm note of finality to her voice, effectively ending any type of further discussion he may have had and he took a step back, conceding. She fleetingly thought how Kane would have been impressed at her speech and ability to be diplomatic in the moment.

The group shook hands and set off back to make the trek to the ship while as soon as they were clear, Clarke radioed and told Bellamy they were on their way back, adding in grounder that they had a lot to discuss. As they hiked, they were all quiet, Clarke deep in thought while Octavia and Indra were on high alert, flanking Madi as they went. They had originally suspected that they had been under observation when they first arrived at the site, but Octavia didn't seem to find any evidence of others, except for the suspect tracks, when she had done her tracking that morning. They weren't taking any chances though as they made a steady pacing wanting to get back to the ship as soon as they could as they felt they were exposed in the forest.

Echo and Miller stood stunned as the music and revelry died down and they were approached by one of the new aliens. This one was taller than the rest, able to look Echo in the eyes and had their hair ornately adorned with colored paint in delicate swirls and patterns over their face. Again, the outfit didn't give any indication to gender, but they were obviously in charge.

"Apologies if hurt. We not hurt, we find." They said with posture open and welcoming and Echo and Miller glanced at one another with confusion.

"You didn't knock us out? Then why the cage?" She demanded her tone accusatory and harsh as she took a defensive stance glancing at the large group. A much taller man approached, placing his hand on the Archon's arm and bowing slightly.

As Echo studied him for a microsecond, she noted he was tall, almost 7 feet by her figuring and well-muscled with long, wavy hair that was streaked with grey at each temple making him appear older than his young face implied. His dark eyes danced as he surveyed Echo and Miller while he bowed, "Allow me the honor Archon?" He asked respectfully.

"You people, fearful, distrusting. Help new ones understand." Archon smiled and gestured for the man to move forward and Miller inched towards Echo as he approached.

"Please, come." He said with a mischievous smile and waved them back towards the door and out into the cool dawn air that was starting to warm rapidly with the rising of the sun.

Echo and Miller followed cautiously and as soon as the door closed, the music and conversation struck up again as if nothing had just happened. They made their way around a bend to another small structure that had a table with food and drink spread out with a few seats that a couple people and a few of the aliens and the man said a few soft words in a foreign language and everyone smiled and cleared out.

"Please, eat, drink. You must be feeling pretty rough." He said sweeping a hand at the table. When Echo and Miller made no move to the table he smiled tightly. "Please, it's safe." he added taking some food and placing it on a plate and eating.

Miller hesitated and then moved forward around Echo, sniffing a few of the liquids till he found the water and pour himself a large tumbler, downing it, then pouring two more, handing one to Echo. She was taken slightly aback by his obvious protection of her and nodded her appreciation, downing the glass slowly.

"I am Karson." The man said as introduction biting into what looked like an apple on the outside, but Echo noticed a pinky, orangish flesh on the inside as he moved it away from his mouth.

"I'm Miller, and this is Echo." He said eyeing the man suspiciously as he reached over and refilled Echo's glass. "Please, tell us why we ended waking up in a cage when it supposedly wasn't you who rendered us that way."

Karson nodded, finishing his bite, "Our scouts saw you hit the force field. They thought you were spies for The Colony." He said by way of explanation.

Echo and Miller exchanged quick looks and Echo felt her heart drop thinking that the others could be walking into a dangerous situation. "Why would the scouts lock us up for being with The Colony?" She asked slowly walking over to the table unable to hide the now loud growling of her stomach. Walking around the back of the table, not turning her back to the man, his eyes danced as he watched her purposeful movements.

"Archon was right in her comment, but I can understand why you wouldn't trust us at this point." He said with a slight laugh and Echo scowled at him slightly. "We are in the middle of a civil war with The Colony and Lucian Krass's oppressive rule." he said, face darkening as he said the name.

Echo's heart dropped further as she realized they had gone through everything and come so far, just to be caught in the middle of another war. "We need to get back to our people." She said taking a bite of something that smelled like bread. The texture chewie and spongy, with a sweet aftertaste and her stomach growled again audibly in happiness and she felt herself flush self-consciously as both men looked at her in amusement. "What? I'm hungry." She said defensively and Karson openly laughed.

"Please, eat. You are safe, and we will take you wherever you need to go when you have eaten." He said once his chuckling subsided.

Echo relaxed her posture a little as Miller loaded up a plate, sitting and starting to eat as well. "Archon...is female?" Echo asked out of curiosity.

Karson nodded, finishing off his piece of fruit, "Yes. It takes a while to recognise the differences in the T'Owvie." And he poured himself a tumbler of a deep red liquid.

"T-ow-vee?" Miller asked around a mouthful of food, pouring himself and Echo more water.

"Yes. The T'Owvie have been on this planet long before our people arrived. Our history is pretty brutal." He responded frowning as he said it.

"Brutal how?" Echo asked, starting to slow her eating now that her stomach was partially satiated and leaned back a little, opening her posture.

Karson smiled sadly, "We came and didn't think of anyone but ourselves. We set off bombs in the atmosphere to help decrease the amount of radiation, not caring about how it nearly wiped out the T'Owvie population. But they didn't need to get revenge on us as the planet did it when we crashed. We had no choice at that point to become allies as neither could survive without the other. For hundreds of years we have coexisted and prospered until the Wholistic group rose to power and influence."

Echo listened carefully as Karson spoke. He was obviously giving them a much more shortened version of the events of the last few hundred years, but this was information Echo was sure would come in play very soon.

"No one really saw it coming. There were small things exclusion, missing persons, restrictions placed and such." He continued, his face darkening as he told his story. "Once they got in full power then, that's when it got really bad. This is Haven, a refuge for all trying to escape The Colony's rule." He said smiling and extending his arms our wide, gesturing to everything around him.

"You said we ran into a force field?" Echo asked now fully lounging back in her chair relaxed, listening to Karson speak. "I didn't see anything." She added thinking back to what she could remember.

"T'Owvie have some advanced technology. One is the force field that protects us and keeps us hidden." He replied then added, "Would you both like some of this?" He gestured to the deep red liquid.

"What is it?" Miller asked taking it from Karson's offering hand and sniffing it lightly. His face screwed up slightly as the sweet scent that had a tang and peppery finish.

"A fermented fruit drink. It has a kick thought, so I will warn you." Karson said wiggling his eye brows at them both.

"Isn't it a little early for moon shine?" Miller asked pouring a little taste in his cup and downing it. He immediately started coughing and sputtering as the alcohol hit the back of his throat.

Both Karson and Echo chuckled at Miller, "Moon….shine? What is that?" Karson asked as his laughter died down.

"Alcohol or spirits." Echo said, "Everyone seemed to be partying quite boisterously." She added, tilting her head in the direction of the building where laughter and music could still be heard even though the sun was above the trees now.

Karson beamed at her, eyes dark and full of humor and she felt slightly flushed suddenly. "You came in at the end of a joining ceremony." He said, and when they both looked at him confused, he explained, "It's when two T'Owvie have a child, it binds them together forever. It's a pretty big deal as it doesn't happen often." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"I guess." Echo said, stifling a yawn. "You said you would take us where we need to go? Do we get our guns and radios back?" She caught back another yawn. Miller was lounging back in his chair too. The food they ate making them wonderfully full and tired. "I forgot to ask. This forcefield, is it why we heard on the radio, but only broken up and couldn't respond?" She added as an afterthought.

Karson grinned his lopsided smile at them both, "I would assume so. I have no knowledge of that though." he said shifting his eyes to his empty cup. "But I swear to you. I will take you anywhere, although I suggest you both rest first. Besides, it would be safer for us to travel at night anyways and I will look into getting you your guns and radios." He suggested generously.

Miller looked at Echo and she looked back between the two men, a small smile creeping up her face. "You have a deal…if…." She started slowly and leaned forward putting her elbows on the table before continuing, "You bring us somewhere we can have a shower first. It's the least you can do since dumping us in a dirt hole." Her eyes flashing with humor as Karson huffed back at her in surprise.

"I think I can manage that." He said standing and stretching a bit before beckoning them to follow, "Come, my friends." He added laughing lightly as Echo shook her head at his cavalier attitude and they grabbed their packs and trotted off to keep up with the man's long stride.

Archon came out of the building beaming at a couple carrying a tiny swaddled baby in their arms and greeted Echo, Miller and Karson. "Come, see future." He said beckoning the trio over. Echo and Miller awkwardly stood as Karson cooed over the baby. The child already had a wild main of black hair haloing its tiny face and Echo leaned in a little as its eyes opened and it babbled at her. She couldn't help but smile at the little dimpled face as it wiggled in its' parent's arms.

Karson straightened up watching Echo out of the corner of his eye before addressing Archon, "Respectfully, Archon, I am taking our new friends to the bracken to shower and sleep if you find that acceptable?"

She nodded and turned to leave with the couple and their child as Karson gestured for Miller and Echo to follow in the opposite direction. They made their way back underground, through the slopped tunnel and back through to the cavern and around the opposite side where they had originally come from.

Echo took in the small buildings, and that there were quite a few more people out and about for the day than when they first came through. "How many people are in Haven?" She asked when she caught up to Karson's long strides.

He smiled down at her, "Not sure exactly. I think it has to be around four hundred by now, but I would say only one hundred of those would be humans." And he came to a stop at a small doorway in the wall of the cavern. "This house isn't in use right now. Feel free to shower and rest here, as it is stocked with anything you should need." And he opened the door waiting outside to let them in.

Echo stopped at the threshold, "Thank you." She said quietly. "How do we find you when we want to go back to our people?" She added as the thought struck her.

His smile never wavered as he took a step a little closer to her and she stiffened a little, causing him to chuckle quietly, "My house is just back that way. The one with the blue door." And he reached an arm past her to point at little hut-like structure on the opposite side of the walkway with a bright blue door. "Come find me. When you are ready." He said moving passed her, eyes twinkling with mischief and chuckling even more at his implication of something further than he actually said.

Echo stood in the door way for a moment longer and huffed at his audacity, then turned and shut the door behind her. The air was cool and there were soft glowing pot lights in the main area with a small kitchen unit with a table and chairs. There were three doors along the back wall and Miller indicated that two were small chambers and one was a lavatory.

She gestured for him to shower first and poked her head into one of the rooms. It was small with only room for a single bed, chair, and night stand and she dropped her pack on the chair and ran a hand along the shiny, paper thin material that covered the plush mattress. Looking at her dirt stained clothes she sighed, not wanting to dirty the bed and moved her bag to sit on the chair and rifled through her bag getting a change of clothes so she would have it all ready for when Miller was done.

She was exhausted and leaned her head back listening to the soft hiss of the shower until she felt her head bobbing to the side as she started to doze off. All of a sudden Miller was shaking her shoulder and she automatically grabbed his wrist, twisting it and forced him down to a knee before she realized what she was doing.

"Ouch! It's me!" He yelped and she immediately let go, eyes wide open and suddenly awake. He got up, rubbing his wrist and scowled at her, "Shower's all yours."

She looked repentantly at him, "Sorry." She mumbled as she got up grabbing her clothes and went to clean up. The shower room was small with a toilet and sink wedged off to the side and the shower unit was against the back wall. There was a rack that had two folded pieces of a fuzzy version of the thin material and it appeared as if Miller must have used one, so she grabbed the other to put on her clothes and hopped into the shower. The water was instantly warm and a bar of lightly floral scented soap was sitting in a crevice in the wall, and she washed up, slowly enjoying the feeling of the cascading water.

Once she was showered and dressed, she stepped out of the bathroom and could hear Miler's soft snoring coming from the one room and she hung her drying cloth on the back of her chair, laying down on the bed, slipping the light blanket over her. It didn't take long and she drifted off to one of the best sleeps she had in a long time.

There was a knock on the door softly and Karson got up, padding across the floor in bare feet to answer it. Archon stood at the entrance with a serious look on her face. "Karson. I enter?" She asked quietly, eyes flicking down the walkway briefly.

He opened the door for the leader, bowing slightly as he did and closed it softly behind her. "Please, make yourself comfortable." He offered out of respect.

"I not be long." She started refusing his offer to sit, "They trust? They not know we take them?" She said with a very serious tone to her voice.

Karson nodded solemnly in response, "I told them, they just ran into our field. I will be taking them to their ship after they have rested." He replied face showing none of the humour he had had for the most of the morning. "I believe they trust me right now, but we need to be careful." He said quietly obviously uncomfortable with the lie.

Archon put her hand on the man's arm, "Scout says group left Krass. Managed open eyes of leader." She said and added softly, "We need. We need for survive."

Karson nodded sadly at her emotion filled words, "I know Archon. Respectfully, is this the best way though?" he asked, his tone slightly pleading.

Archon took a deep breath deep in thought for a moment, then slowly exhaled before answering him, "Deception never good idea. Forgiveness may be only hope in end?" She said and patted his arm before walking to the door, shoulders seeming heaving with the burden of their conversation.

Karson let her out with another bow and stood in the door watching her walk away slowly, her gait showing her extreme age, then looked back towards where Echo and Miller were fast asleep. Their leaders may have been clued in to what was really going on with Krass, but Archon was playing a much more dangerous game with their lies and deceptions and it could end up back firing to the loss of a whole civilization. He hung his head with a sigh and shut his door behind him.


	17. Chapter 17

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Chapter XVII

Bellamy paced at the drop ship door impatiently as he waited for Clarke to return. Even after all the years and distance between them he could still tell by the tone of her voice that she was concerned over something that happened, causing them to cut their meeting short after only one night. He limped as he paced still not be able to put much weight on his hurt knee.

Murphy was lounging on the top of a crate with a ball he found tossing it against the wall and catching it as it came back, thud, thud, slap, repeated with each toss. Finally, Bellamy turned on him with a glare, "Murphy. Seriously." He stated with an angry tone. His head was getting better but he couldn't seem to shake the persistent headache behind his eyes.

Murphy caught the ball and held his hands up in defence. "Jeez, chill out Bellamy." He said hopping off the crate and stalking off to go to the bridge and find Shaw, and Bellamy signed, raking a hand through his hair. On top of Clarke seemingly rushing back to the ship Echo was still out scouting on radio silence and they would have no way of knowing if her and Miller were okay until tomorrow night at the earliest.

Clarke had radioed when they were on their way, so they should have been returning any time and Shaw was watching from the bridge to radio to Bellamy to open the door when they got to the clearing and he was getting antsy waiting. He always found it hard to just sit and not be active, even when they were on the ring and couldn't go anywhere, he always kept himself busy with various things.

His knee finally started to throb enough that he needed to sit down, and hopped up on the crate Murphy had been laying on. Shortly after he did the internal intercom crackled to life and Shaw's voice came across, "Open it up Bell, they are crossing the field." And he hopped down again pulling the handle to open the door.

As it opened, the sweet warm air wafted into the hanger and the four slowly came into view and Bellamy's heart beat a little harder as the wave of relief hit him. All four were jogging, and had stripped down to just tank tops with having to hike in the hottest part of the day, pack bouncing on their backs as they crossed the field.

Clarke slowed letting Madi jog ahead with Octavia and Indra right behind her and her eyes locked with Bellamy's briefly before she turned back to scan the tree line as if she was expecting to see someone or something following them. She turned abruptly back and trotted up the ramp into the ship, nodding for Bellamy to shut the door.

Before she could say anything Madi walked over and wrapped her arms around Bellamy's waist surprising everyone. Bellamy flinched slightly with the contact to his ribs and sucked in his breath, but Madi didn't seem to notice. He stood for a moment, his arms out looking from Octavia to Clarke at a loss for how to react before lightly patting her back before she pulled away.

"Uh...everything okay?" Bellamy asked still stunned at her behavior and waited for an answer from one of the women and they all shrugged at him.

Madi looked up at him, "I am just glad you are up and doing okay. I didn't get to say that before, and well, seeing you standing there..." And Bellamy couldn't help but smile at the girl.

"Well, thank you Madi." He said, his grin showing his deep dimples, and making his eyes light up. He looked up at the rest of them sheepishly, "Indra, O, you guys want to drop your packs with Clarke and Madi?" He asked lightly as reality seeped back into the moment.

They all nodded and turned to head to the crew quarters, "I will meet you all on the bridge." He said letting Madi, Indra and Octavia go ahead of him, but as Clarke approached, he stopped her with a hand on the arm.

"You have that look on your face again." He said in a low voice as the others walked away chatting and Clarke leaned into him a little subconsciously.

"Life seems to be against us Bellamy." She responded looking suddenly exhausted and he draped an arm over her shoulders in support.

"We can figure this out. I know we can do it together." He said as he squeezed her shoulders, trying to cheer her up. He was worried about how serious she looked, and how tired she seemed after only 24 hours. The last time she had that look, they had just defeated Alie and she told him that Prymfya was coming.

He felt Clarke's shoulders shake with a humorless chuckle and she looked up at him, "You still have hope?" She asked repeating the moment they were choosing the names for the list.

His mouth twitched and his eyebrow went up as he looked down at her and he leaned close as he whispered, "We still breathing?" And they both smiled at the shared moment, faces close enough that he could feel her breath tickling the skin on his face.

The moment stretched out and he swallowed, blinking, and moved back a bit and cleared his throat. "Ah, we should get to the bridge." He said with a tone of regret, but left his arm draped over her shoulders as they headed to the bridge.

Clarke moved out from under his arm, begrudgingly, to drop her bag in her quarters and then they both headed up the ramp to the bridge, Bellamy limping as he went. "How are you feeling?" she asked, taking a mental note about his gait as they walked.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He said with his cocky grin and Clarke couldn't help but smile back as they went through the bridge doors.

Everyone was gathered except for Echo and Miller, and Shaw had figured out how to send encrypted audio files to Raven so they could be filled in on what was going on without having to have full conversations in grounder over the open laser comms.

Clarke leaned against one of the consoles and took a deep breath, "I cut the meeting short with Krass because he divulged that they are in the middle of a civil war." And she stopped, letting the words sink in.

The room was silent as everyone processed what that might mean for them being able to return everyone to the ground. "He said that they were in peace talks and that they should have a resolution soon, but until that happens, I don't want to see us getting involved, or having to pick a side." She added as everyone solemnly listened to her.

"So, what's the plan then? Just sit in the ship till they sort themselves out?" Murphy asked scoffing at the thought. He didn't want to get stuck on a planet and have Raven, Emori and Jordon stuck on the ship by themselves.

Clarke could hear the frustration in Murphy's tone with his comment, "We still have people out there Murphy." She said sympathetically. She didn't want to hang around longer than they needed to as sitting in the clearing left them open to attempted attack. "We wait for Echo and Miller, then we go back up to our people." she stated looking at Bellamy, them Madi for confirmation and they both nodded in agreement.

Clarke had Shaw compose an audio file and send it to Raven with the plan and then worked out a rotating guard schedule for monitoring the ship, just to be on the safe side. By the time all the schedules were sorted and the message was composed and sent, the suns were low on the horizon and Clarke felt completely drained and hungry. She wandered to the small mess hall as Madi had gone to bed the same time the others did and Indra and Octavia were scheduled to do the first watch shift.

Bellamy was sitting in the mess hall having some tea with the lights low as the throbbing in his head was getting to him, but looked up as Clarke walked in, head down, rubbing the back of her neck and shoulders.

"You okay?" he asked and her head snapped up, eyes startled and he smiled apologetically, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He added repentantly.

"No, it's okay. I was distracted and didn't see you sitting here in the dark." She said, heading over and getting herself some rations and a hot cup of tea, wishing slightly that they had the spicy drink that she had at the meeting. Turning and sitting with Bellamy she took him in with a look of concern, "Are you still having headaches? I should really check you out."

His mouth twitched as he tried not to smile and the smart comment that came to mind, "It's not too bad, but I have been up all day today. Yesterday I was in bed by late afternoon." He admitted sheepishly, looking down into his mug.

"Bellamy," Clarke chastised gently knowing she would be just as bad, if not worse if the rolls were reverse. "Once I am done this, I want to give you a check-up." she said with a tone of finality, and he huffed out a resigned laugh.

They sat in silence as she ate her food, just finding comfort in one another's presence. After a while Clarke looked over at Bellamy, "What do we do Bellamy? I thought we were all done with this." She said with a sigh and he nodded.

"It was hard on the ring," he started, "for many reasons. But the hardest was the peace and the laughter. It didn't feel like we deserved it, you know?" He said, surprising her.

Clarke's heart sank at the thought, "As much as I wanted to see you guys again, I wanted you to be happy. You know that right?" She said softly reaching out to squeeze his hand and he gave her a half smile in the dim light. "Come on, let's go to the infirmary." She finished, sliding her hand away from his self-consciously.

The walked slowly, Bellamy limping more from a long day on his feet, not talking to each other as they went. Once in the infirmary, she busied herself with getting some supplies together. It never failed, but since waking up, she didn't seem herself when alone with him. Moving back to him nervously, she checked the small bandage covering his stitches above his eye, making sure there was no sign of infection, then moved to his ribs.

She struggled with his shirt awkwardly for a moment before she resigned herself, and asked him to take it off. He started to pull it off, but winced as he tried to lift up his left arm above his head, so she helped him slip it off carefully, and they both chuckled with awkwardness as they tried to maneuver the shirt while bumping into each other.

He shivered briefly in the cool air and goosebumps broke out over his skin, "Sorry, I will be quick." Clarke said by way of apology and he twitched his shoulders up as if to say it was fine.

The tape was coming lose on the edges by his back as it had been rubbing against the cloth of his shirt as he moved and slept, so she carefully pealed it off, exposing the large ugly bruise under it as he sucked in his breath. Her heart dropped at the sight and she couldn't help but run gently fingers over the marred flesh tenderly.

"Ahhhrrg." Bellamy said reacting and flinching away, then flinching again as the pain laced through his ribs. He breathed through it as she studied him with concern, "That tickles." he said through clenched teeth as the pain eased off.

Clarke was immediately horrified that she had caused him to flinch and hurt, "Oh, my God, sorry." she said quickly leaving her hand resting on his forearm gently.

Bellamy smiled once the pain was gone, "It's fine, really." He said leaning his head a little toward her and covering her hand with his other one to impart his sincerity of his words.

Clarke suddenly felt her heart rate pick up and could feel a blush working its way up her neck slowly as it seemed all the moisture was suddenly gone from her mouth and she licked her lips nervously, watching his eyes flick down to watch the movement, his pupils expanding as he looked back up into her eyes. Clarke's flush rapidly expanded causing her stomach to tighten and the floor seemed to shift under her feet for a moment.

She cleared her throat and moved back a little, "Umm, I, umm, I will get some tape and get you taped back up." she stuttered, turning away, her hands feeling suddenly cold from the loss of his hot skin against hers.

Bellamy sat up as if someone flicked on the lights and he scowled slightly at the back of Clarke's head. His heart was pounding in his ears and he felt flushed all over. She had been so close, and the way her tongue slid across her lips as her skin flushed with a rosy tone, it was almost too much for him to stand and he could feel his body rebelling against his tenuous control as the beginnings of arousal hit him, causing him to shift uncomfortably in the edge of the exam bed.

Clarke took her time searching for the tape even though she knew exactly where it was in the drawer, giving her body a chance to calm down from his touch. The last two times they had been close like this, he had pulled away and she couldn't risk that again, but she also couldn't seem to keep her body in check from responding to any time her was close to her, looking at her the way he just did.

She turned back and noticed how flushed his cheeks were as his shoulders moved with rapid breaths while he looked down at the floor, his eyes hooded from her. "Okay, here." she said setting the tape beside him on the bed.

He looked up at her, unable to cover the raw emotion in his eyes and Clarke stepped back with the force of what she saw and sucked in her breath. "Bellamy..." she whispered, not knowing what else to say.

The air was suddenly charged between them, and Bellamy couldn't keep doing this dance with her and he slipped down off the bed, ignoring the brief flash of pain in his knee and untaped ribs as he did, and stepped tentatively toward Clarke and watched fear flash through her eyes as she stepped back a bit and reached her hand up as if to stop him.

"Clarke," he said tilting his head to the side, as if warning her, and took another step forward so her hand was on his chest lightly. He couldn't figure out why she seemed so scared and he moved ever so slowly to cover her hand on his chest with the both of his, pinning it in place.

She watched him trap her hand, hot, and electric on his bare chest as her heart skittered at a wild pace, causing her to feel light headed, and she looked down, shaking her head, "Bellamy, I...I can't." She whispered into the closing space between them.

He cupped her cheek in his hand, gently lifting her head to look him in the eyes, "Can't what, Clarke?" He whispered back at her, closing the space even further so that he could feel the heat radiating off her as her chest rose and fell at a rapid pace. She felt like a sun in front of him at the moment, drawing him into her gravity and light.

Clarke's head spun and all she could feel was his heat on her skin, sending shocks through her hand up her arm, effecting her whole body as her resolve was slowly slipping away as if she was trying to hold on to water and she looked away from his searing brown eyes. "I can't get hurt, not by you." She said, surprised as the words left her mouth.

Bellamy moved a breath closer, trapping her fully, their two hands pinned between them, body's flush against each other, her heart pounding against him and he gently lifted her face again to look at him. He needed her to know, needed her to feel what he was feeling as he said the words, "I would never hurt you again." And he waited, feeling her start to tremble against him.

She could drown in those dark eyes and had desperately wished, deep down, in some far back part of her mind, that he would look at her as he was right at this moment, but it terrified her. She could feel his desire, respect, hope, and….dare she even think the whisper of it, love, coming through his expression. She felt a tear slip out from the corner of her eye and he brushed it away with the thumb that held her face and she closed her eyes, leaning her head into his hand.

He watched her eyes flutter closed as she tilted her head and everything inside him completely unravelled. Before he could even think about it, he closed the thin gap between them, slipping his hand further back, threading his fingers through her silky hair. His lips touched hers tentatively, as his heart stopped in his chest waiting for her to pull back, and desperately hoping she wouldn't.

One minute his thumb was feathering across her cheek and the next his lips were lightly on hers, with a gentle pressure that took her by surprise and she froze for what seemed like an eternity until her body took over and she leaned into him. Her mouth tilted across his, meeting his pressure, and her free hand reflexively snaked around his waist, fingers splaying across the warm, bare skin of his lower back, causing a soft moan to rumble in his chest against her hand.

Bellamy felt as if he was rapidly losing his grip on what thin thread of control he had to start with, when he felt her hand gently press him against her tightly and a moan slipped out as his stomach tightened and the low burn sparked into a searing heat. He reached up letting her hand on his chest go, trapping her head in both hands, fingers wound through her hair.

Clarkes mind was completely blank as his mouth captured hers and devoured them, his hands in her hair, trapping the sides on her face and the skin of his chest burning against her and she felt her hand slid across in feathering lightness down his chest, then ribs then around the back, her hands locking around him as they had done before. She could feel his need increase as their hearts beat in unison at an increasing pace and she felt the fear bubbling up inside her. She couldn't catch her breath and was panting against his mouth and the fear started to take over and she stepped back, bringing her hands back around to push him back as the tears freely started to flow.

"I can't. Please..." she almost pleaded between gasping sobs as she covered her kiss swollen lips with her hand and stared in his shocked eyes.

"Clarke...I..." He started as she began to hyperventilate and shake her head at him. He was panting himself from the heat of the kiss and her rejection was slowly cutting through his desire turning it to frustration.

Clarke couldn't look at the pain in his eyes and she bolted, leaving him standing in the infirmary confused and bereft in the moment. She jogged down the hall, numb and dizzy till she got to her crew quarters and flung herself on the bed and sobbed. He was her best friend, confidant, and partner. Her heart screamed at her and regret slammed into her along with all the confusion, fear and excitement and she froze as she heard her door open then close in a quiet hissing motion.

There was silence as her sobs eased off and she regained control of her shakes that had wracked her body and she started to wonder if she imagined the door opening and closing, but could feel a presence in the room with her. Clarke started to feel the heat of embarrassment starting to work its way up her neck and she didn't want to bring her face out of the pillow.

Bellamy had taken a couple minutes to tape up his ribs while swearing to himself for pushing her. He knew she was working through something and that she wasn't talking, but he had given into his hope and desire to finally be with her when she wasn't ready. Then he struggled with the anger of having to wait for her, after all these years being by her side, while watching her keep him at arm's length till he thought she was gone.

After struggling to get his shirt back on he hobbled down the hall, stopping at her door, where he fought with his doubt and frustration before slipping in and shutting the door behind him. She was face down on her bunk sobbing, and his heart shattered, thinking he caused her that pain, so he waited and just stood as her tears slowed and her breathing evened out before he moved and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Clarke." He said softly, careful not to touch her quite yet as he didn't trust his emotions at the moment.

Clarke heard him whisper her name in the dark room, as she hadn't bothered to turn the overhead light on when she rushed in and the only light was the faint glow of the speaker console pad. Taking a deep breath she sat up, wiping her cheeks and sniffling the last of her tears away and then focused on her hands, folded on her lap as he sat at the end of the bed.

"Bellamy. I can't do this without you." she said quietly. There was so much uncertainty and they didn't even know if they were going to be able to settle on this planet without more war and loss.

"I'm not going anywhere Clarke, and I think I have kind of showed you that a few moments ago." Bellamy responded trying to not be short with her in his frustration. He shifted on the bed and winced, grabbing his side.

"Shit, Bellamy, I'm sorry, I didn't retape your ribs." And she got up with purpose, turning on the small overhead light. "I will be right back." she said and snuck out, leaving him again sitting alone.

Clarke jogged to the infirmary, grabbed the tape that he had left sitting on the table and then trotted back to her room keeping an eye out for anyone in the halls. It was well into the long night and everyone had bunked down hours ago except for Indra and Octavia as they were keeping watch on the bridge.

She slipped back into her room quietly and Bellamy had shifted position so that he was sitting near the head of the bed, back resting on the wall with his head leaned back and eyes closed. He peeked open one eye at her as she shut the door as quietly as she could. He moved carefully pulling his shirt off, exposing his sloppy tape job and she couldn't help but chuckle.

"What?" he said defensively but then smiled as he tried to look at his pitiful work. "I did what I could." he said bracing as she pulled off the tape.

Clarke got the tape off quickly, as she eyed him gritting his teeth as she did it, "Sorry." she said quietly and ripped some more pieced of tap binding the side tightly as he held his breath against the brief pain on the pressure on his hurt ribs.

Bellamy's head throbbed as he held his breath until she was done, "Thanks." he got out between clenched teeth. As soon as she was done and the pain subsided, he got his shirt back on and skooched back again to lean against the wall, relaxing as everything seemed to be throbbing at the moment. "I just need a minute." He said quietly and heard the click of the light turn off.

Clarke took pity on him and turned the light off, crawling up on the bed near the foot, sitting beside him with her back against the wall. "We have so much that needs our focus." She finally said quietly.

He huffed slightly, cracking a smile, "We always do. I'm tired of waiting for life to give me a break." he said bluntly sounding completely exhausted.

Clarke looked over at him, his eyes closed, as his breathing became regular and she slowly leaned over in the dark room, putting her head on his shoulder. She could feel his heat radiate through to her where they touched along her right side and closed her eyes, breathing in his scent, and listening to his regular breathing and felt herself start to drift off.

Echo started awake with a jolt, dreaming she was in a free fall about to slam into the Earth, and her breathing was heavy, bed and clothes soaked in sweat. She swung her legs of the edge of the bed and cradled her head in her hands as she slowed her breathing and heart rate. There was no way of telling what time it was in the cavern, but it felt like she had been asleep for quite a few hours, so she got up and went out into the main living room. She could hear Miller's soft snores still coming from his room so she grabbed fresh clothes and went to shower.

The shower refreshed her, and seemed to wash away the last of the fears from her dream and she relaxed as she packed up the back pack out in the main living area before pacing a little not knowing what to do with herself. She paced over to the door and slipped out, closing it quietly, looking both ways as she did as people milled around.

She headed back in the direction that they had first come and hesitated across from Karson's blue door before she headed back to the hallway that lead up to the open air. The light was dimming, both suns below the tree horizon, air still warm and muggy but slightly cooling and she wandered around the path to where they had eaten the night before. She hadn't been able to see it before, but down the path a little further was a railing overlooking a deep crevasse that had water moving lazily about 50 feet down.

There was foliage everywhere and insects buzzed slightly as she leaned on the railing taking in the view. "Did you have a good sleep?" said a voice close behind her and she jumped, going immediately into a defensive stance.

Karson stood back, just out of reach, eyes twinkling and a lopsided grin showing off his dimples. She relaxed her posture slightly, and looked back over the expanse. "I did sleep well, thank you." She responded lightly.

He walked up and leaned in the railing beside her, a little closer than necessary, but she let it go for the time being. "We should be leaving soon." she said, surprised her tone sounded slightly disappointed.

"Are your people monitoring our radio frequency?" He asked lightly and she turned to look at him as he kept staring out over the crevasse.

"They are." she said slowly, drawing out her response, "Why?" she asked getting a slight tingle up the back of her neck.

"We wouldn't be able to get a clear signal through the force field so we would need to go outside it, but The Colony can't read our frequency." He started and Echo narrowed her eyes to him as he continued, "Would your leaders accept to come here to meet you here, then with Archon?" he asked quietly.

Echo remained quiet for a while, thinking over his question and its implications, "If you knew we could contact our people before, why didn't you offer this last night?" She said confronting him.

His smile wavered for a second before he took a deep breath, "Because Archon wanted the chance for me to explain. And, well, you both seemed tired. I didn't figure a few hours would make a difference." His smile was back, but this time Echo noted it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Will you still let us go back to our people, or must they come here?" She said bluntly, not feeling like playing a political game at the moment.

Karson turned abruptly, the smile finally falling from his face as he leaned in a little towards her, "You think we would keep you here?!" He asked genuinely alarmed at her implication.

Echo eyed him suspiciously for a moment, bluntness seemed to be working for the time being, "No, but you haven't been honest, so I wonder what else you could be hiding." She stated as he frowned a little and the look seeming to mar his handsome features.

"We would never force you to stay. That is not the way in Haven." He said frowning at his hands, then added, "but since we are being blunt, I have to say that I will be disappointed when you leave." And he smirked at her openly.

"Ha!" she scoffed back with a laugh that caused him to chuckle, "Now I know you're hiding something." She said laughing more as she started to walk away and he followed. "I need to at least radio my people and see what we say. How do we do that?" She asked as they walked.

"We go outside the force field. That will clear up the signal. But we will need to keep it short." He said his laughter dying.

"Okay. I will get Miller and we will see if we can set up a meeting." She said as if she was dictating a plan of attack.

"And you will stay until they come?" He asked with a hopeful grin, as Echo just shook her head at him and rolled her eyes.

"We will see what they think." Was all she replied as they arrived at the door to her and Millers quarters.

Miller was up and had showered as they came through the door, and they explained the plan to radio the ship and he was just as suddenly skeptical of the generosity as Echo had been, grilling Karson as to why they hadn't said anything further. He finally agreed with the plan to radio the ship for a meeting and possibly stay at Haven until a group came, but he did express his concerns about safety and it seeming like they were choosing a side by coming here.

"I understand all of that, and I can assure you, we haven't made Haven what it is for as long as we have without being able to conceal people coming and going. We will maintain your neutrality at all times." Karson assured and Miller looked over at Echo, tilting his head to the side as if asking her and she shrugged back.

"Alright. We grab our stuff to go radio and then if we stay, we stay, if we go back, we go back." He said as Echo agreed and walked to her room to grab her bag. Miller's was already in the living space so as soon as Echo came out they were ready to go.

"We can stop by The Hub and get a radio before trekking to the edge of the field." Karson said as they exited the small apartment.

It didn't take long for them to get the radios and head out on the same path they had been taken when they first woke up, but instead of heading down to the maze of stone where their cell had been, they turned up the far said of the cavern and down a long tunnel. Karson grabbed a globe and gave it a quick shake, lighting it up and the way before them as they walked down the wet stone path. It progressively got wetter and he cautioned them on the slippery stone as they went and Echo started to pick up the sound of roaring water, echoing louder and louder down the hall.

Eventually they turned a corner and the hall widened to a small cave structure that was blocked by a thundering waterfall at the end and Karson walked right up to the water. "Here, you make your call here." He said over the sound of the crashing water.

"How will they ever hear us?!" Echo said frustrated raising her voice over the notice as Karson walked up to her.

He pulled out a radio of his own and looked her straight in the eye. "Please, trust me." He said lower his voice and stepping into her space.

Echo took the radio and pressed the button, "This is Echo to Eligis drop ship." She said and Karson's eye grew wide with surprise. She waited and there was no response so she tried again, Echo, to Eligis drop ship, can you hear me?" She said starting to become increasingly worried, when a voice cracked across the radio.

"Echo, this is Indra, we can hear you." And she breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at Miller and nodded as the roar was to load for him to hear the response.

"Indra, get Clarke, Bellamy and Madi. We need to talk." She said, her face dead serious as she looked back at Karson.

Indra and Octavia were watching the monitors on the bridge, having a coffee when a crackling voice came across the radio on the communications station, "This is Echo to Eligis drop ship." And both women froze in disbelief as to what they were hearing.

"I thought they were supposed to be on radio silence?!" Indra demanded as she looked at Octavia.

"You better answer her," Octavia said not making a move towards the crackling radio as Indra shot her a look of disbelief.

"Why me?" She demanded as the voice cracked over the radio again.

"Because if I answer, she's going to think I must have been waiting for my moment all along and took over." Octavia explained in frustration.

Indra's face darkened with a frown and then nodded at her, "You are probably right." She replied conceding Octavia's line of thinking and rushed over, answering the radio.

"Indra, get Clarke, Bellamy and Madi. We need to talk." She said and Indra and Octavia looked at each other for a split second before Octavia set out at a sprint from the bridge. She went straight to Clarke's room barging in, but froze in an instant as she saw Clarke and Bellamy wedged in the same bunk, blinking sleepy eyes at her as her brother had an arm draped over Clarke's waist.

"Uh, sorry, but, you guys need to come to the bridge." Was all she got out before turning on her heal and leaving the cabin shutting the door on the two as they turned to each other in confusion.


	18. Chapter 18

**You readers are amazing! Thanks for the reviews...writing that last chapter was so daunting yet so fun as there is sooooo much Bellarke love out there. Hopefully I can be true to the characters and the story as I keep going. I have a whole plot worked out which, honestly in show sense would probly be more like season 6, 7, 8, so...keep up the reviews...even you guests! Tell me what works, what doesn't, and what you love!**

 **Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own these character and never have to work again...I do not, all rights to CW.**

Chapter XVIII

The door hissed shut leaving them in the dark again and Clarke was glad that it took a bit for their eyes to adjust as she could feel her face was flaming red with embarrassment. They had dozed off briefly sitting against the wall, then Clarke had felt him move to lay down in her half asleep state, so she had wedged herself in the remaining space on the bunk. His arm was draped over her waist, warm and protective and his body was flush against her back, fitting like a puzzle piece, radiating heat down the full length to her feet.

Moving her head slightly she caught his eye as he had propped himself up when Octavia came bursting in. "Hi." She said feeling a little shy at his closeness.

Bellamy smiled, unable to help himself from lingering a moment, "Hey." He said back enjoying how she was wedged in next to him, leaning back on him a little.

Clarke sighed and moved to get up, obviously something was up to have Octavia barging into her room and Bellamy got up as she moved groaning with his injuries. As they made their was to the bridge, Madi was already there, shooting Clarke a questioning look as they both came in with rumpled hair and clothes.

Indra had the radio that Shaw had made up to receive the unknown radio signals and she held it up, "Go ahead Echo, everyone's here." She said as Bellamy and Clarke looked at her stunned.

Echo stood by the thundering water, still amazed that the sound came through with only a mild static, and relayed a quick description of the events that lead up to her and Miller's radio call. "They say they can maintain our neutrality and bring you here to Haven in secrecy to meet." She finished and let go of the button.

Karson had been taking things in quietly and stepped forward so that Echo could hear him over the roar of the water, "We won't have much longer at this location." He said, his face conveying the sense of urgency he was politely not saying.

Bellamy looked to Clarke then Madi, "Thoughts?" He said to the group, knowing exactly what Clarke would say already.

Madi tilted her head in conference with the Commanders then nodded, "We need to find out all the facts. Although I don't like that we are trusting someone else to keep a meeting secret, I think it's worth it at this point." All sense of the flirty young girl gone in the moment, replaced with her commander persona.

Indra watched Clarke slowly nodded in agreement, then Bellamy, "Echo, set up the meeting and we get the details in…..one hour." She said with a confirming look to the others.

Echo confirmed with a nod to Karson who was leaning close to listen to the response, "We will have to go to a new location but that will work." He said in agreement.

"One hour then." She said and clicked off the radio, looking up at Miller then Karson. "I guess we are staying for a bit." And Karson beamed at Echo staying closed as she rolled her eyes.

"Let's go meet with Archon to make the arrangements to get you leaders here." Karson said after a moment and started to head back, glowing orb held high to show them the way in the now pitch black tunnel.

"What time is it?" Echo asked off handedly as she carefully made her way along the wet stone hallway beating Karson.

"It will be about 8 hours till dawn." He said softly. The roar of the water long behind them but still softly echoing in the background.

"Why do we need to move locations?" Miller asked catching up to them bath as the came into view of the main cavern.

"The T'Owvie shielding system makes pinpointing our communications very difficult, but given enough time on the same frequency and from the same location, they would be able to figure it out. It's a miracle you even picked up what you did as we change frequencies every few days." He replied openly.

"And, the Colony hasn't been able to figure out how you communicate?" Echo said, the disbelief coloring her tone.

"Because of the nature of Haven, we don't exactly need to radio anyone outside as we are mostly self sufficient. All of our outside communications are done either in person or in writing to keep our secrecy." He explained vaguely.

Echo chewed on what he said while they walked, along with everything she had seen and he had told her so far. They stopped at a larger structure near the back of the cavern, with a view of the rest of the cavern below and Karson knocked softly on the door. It was a late enough hour that very few people were about and the sounds of the cavern echoed around the trio as they stood outside the door.

Archon opened the door and immediately greeted the group with a smile, "Welcome, come, come." She said and opened the door wide to allow them to enter. The main level was open and warm, decorated in soft reds, yellow, with the occasional splash of blue here and there, soft lights placed in corners and a light smell of spice and vanilla, creating an overall relaxing atmosphere.

Karson bowed as they entered and Echo and Miller followed his lead slightly awkwardly and Archon waved their actions off gesturing for them to take a seat in the living room area. There were large, over stuffed pillowy-like chairs spaced in a half circle and a low table in the middle.

"Tea?" Archon asked gesturing to a pot on an element bubbling away happily and Echo assumed that was the source of the spicy scent.

They all nodded and Echo realized she hadn't eaten since their meal at the first meeting and thankfully she noticed Archon putting out small breads and cake like items on a plate as she busied herself with the cups and pot of tea.

"Sorry for the late intrusion Archon." Karson said sitting in a chair that seemed to swallow him up as he sat down despite his height and build, and both Echo and Miller sat carefully into the chairs, being slightly engulfed as they did.

"No intrusion. Here, eat, then talk." She said in a mothering tone, face open and welcoming as she served them each the spicy tea and plate with breads and cakes.

Echo helped herself to a few breads and a cake and shifted carefully in her seat to allow her to be a little more upright as Archon handed her a large much of the hot drink. She sniffed it, carefully cradling the large mug in her hands and noted the scent of cinnamon, vanilla, and warm milk. She sipped it carefully and it tasted just as it smelt, but had a bite at the end that was not expected, but pleasant none the less.

Karson sipped from his mug a little and waited until Archon had settled in a chair herself, "The leaders have agreed to meet with us, and I agreed to keep their neutrality first and foremost as they don't want it to appear as if they are taking sides in our conflict." He finally said after a quick glance at his watch. "We don't have long to respond with a time and way to meet that will secure their safety." He said imparting his urgency in the matter.

Archon nodded thoughtfully, "We maintain neutrality all cost. Means will take some days. Must arrange covers programmed. Find landing place or each person? Which you think?" She said softly as her mind seemed to be working out details.

Karson took a few more sips as he thought as well about the problem then looked at Echo and Miller, "How many of your leaders would come?" he asked.

Miller looked at Echo as they shrugged lightly, "I would assume three if not four?" He finally answered thinking of the group that went to meet with Krass.

Karson, thought through the and seemed to calculate some things in his head, "Archon, with that number and the distance needing to travel, we will need to secure the pit for the covers. We can't maintain the personal ones for that length and number of people." He said as she agreed, eyes sharp as she seemed to have come to the same decision.

"Good." She replied lips tight with the thought of undertaking they needed to work on. "Will take...Four day? Then, send coordinate to leaders?" She stated to the group and Karson nodded, draining the rest of his mug.

"Agreed. Thank you for your hospitality. We will go advise their leaders." He said indicating that Miller and Echo should follow.

They quickly put down their mugs and plates and bowed slightly in respect as they all headed to the door. "Thank you, Archon." Echo said lightly as the exited.

"New era could dawn." Archon stated with a hopeful smile and patted the girl on the arm lightly, causing Echo to smile back in spite of herself and with a last nod, Archon closed the door on the trio.

"Let's get a move on, I guess. We need to get to the other side of the field." He said and set off down a set of stairs cut into the stone that seemed to cut a path right down the heart of the cavern as Echo and Miller hurried after him.

Clarke, Bellamy, Indra, Octavia and Madi stood for a moment in disbelief all looking at the radio as it clicked off. Somehow, Echo and Miller had found this other group on the planet and now they were to set up a meeting. All the while trying to now situate themselves in the middle of a civil war. Bellamy looked quickly at the time and decided if they were going to be up for the next hour at least he needed some coffee, and Clarke agreed, while Madi sat down with Octavia and Indra, deciding to wait it out on the bridge.

Clarke felt the self-consciousness start to creep back in between her and Bellamy as they left the bridge and tried to defuse it. "I guess we are done with the sleeping portion of our night." She quipped lightly.

"I guess so." Bellamy responded looking over side-long at her, "And I was getting the best sleep I have had in a long time." He added voice dripping with insinuation.

Clarke smiled, glancing over at him and teased, "One hundred and twenty five year cryo sleep not included?"

He laughed openly, then grabbed his ribs as the pain hit, "Clarke Griffen, cracking an honest to goodness joke?! Ouch..." He said regretting his laughter immediately.

"Hey, I'm hilarious, but you may not want to find out how much until those ribs are healed." She smiled with a mild amount of concern on her face as he raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief. She was relieved that they seemed to have moved passed the fact that she ran out on him after he kissed her, and that he really hadn't minded falling asleep with her, even in the cramped bunk.

If she was being honest, she had easily slipped into a deep sleep with his arm draped over her, and that was something that hadn't happened since...well, since falling asleep beside Lexa. The thought in itself sent a shot of fear through her as it meant she had already had deeper feelings for Bellamy than she even realized. She quickly shoved that to the back of her mind and moved to get them both a coffee so they could head back to the bridge.

"I am coming with you this time to meet with these people." Bellamy stated with a tone of finality, as he sat on the corner of one of the tables while she filled the coffees.

"I figured you would say that." Clarke sighed as she turned back with the two full cups. "And nothing I say will make you decide otherwise?" she said, knowing exactly what he would say to the question.

"Nope. I can't sit around this ship again while you and my sister are out there, possibly putting yourselves in danger." He stood accepting his cup and took a sip, adding an inadvertent happy sigh.

Clarke covered her grin with her own cup, "What do we do about Krass? We have to at least keep the communication lines open. There're two sides to every war. I don't want to just write them off." she said looking down into her cup in thought.

"Let's wake Shaw when we get the meet details and see if he and Raven can work out another portable radio that would allow us to maintain contact if needed?" He suggested lost on thought over the problem. "I agree, we can't just cut things off. What did he say again about the war?" he added after a moment.

Clarke leaned back on the counter and took a sip before answering, "He said that the conflict was recent and that they currently were in peace talks. That he was hoping for a resolution soon." She said thinking back, "But there was something about the way he described the possibility of our, how did he put it...integration of our group with theirs, that gave me the creeps."

Bellamy watched her as she talked, hugging her mug and the thought wiggled into his mind that this was the first time since he rescued her from Diyoza that things had seemed like they used to before they had been separated, and the thought caused him to smile a little.

"What did I say?" She asked him and he realized he had gotten lost in his thoughts.

"Uh, sorry. You were saying something about how Krass worded things that was giving you the creeps." Bellamy stumbled, trying to focus back on what they were talking about.

Clarke tilted her head at him questioningly, but moved on, "I just feel like there is something else going on here. Something bigger." She said, then felt slightly foolish. She never seemed to be able to trust a good thing. Having said that, the last time she felt like a skeptic, she discovered the mountain men wanted to kill all of her friends for their bone marrow.

"Chocolate cake, to hanging upside down?" Bellamy said with a lopsided grin, reading her thoughts and she huffed a humorless laugh back at him.

"That about right." she said slightly disheartened. "I am thinking life owes us some kind of break here at some point." She said, suddenly feeling tired again, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples with her thumb and pointer finger.

She heard Bellamy move and set his cup down with a soft clink of ceramic on metal, "We will figure this out together, okay?" he said softly, voice low and rumbling in his chest, and she could feel he was close in front of her as she continued to rub her temples for a moment longer.

She lowered her hand and looked up into his warm brown eyes and couldn't help but feel the strength he offered by just being with her, "Together." She replied with a small smile as she could feel him rubbing the front of her shoulders with his thumbs.

"Come on," He said quietly leaning in a little bit towards her, "Let's head back. Shouldn't be long before they radio back in." And he impulsively leaned down and gave her a light kiss on the forehead surprising even himself at the gesture. He had never been one for intimate actions, but in the moment, it seemed like second nature.

Clarke smiled and felt a blush begin as he moved back and grabbed his mug, refilling it, and they both headed back to the bridge. When they got back, the other three were locked in a serious discussion as to the best way to appear neutral if this new side was the better option for a lasting alliance.

Clarke chimed in as Octavia was siding on a group with the best military strength, "We aren't here to fight. We are here to find peace, and a future." She said with a soft tone of rebuke.

Just as Octavia scowled and went to retort the radio clicked to life, "Echo to Eligis drop ship?" Came across the speaker in a staticky tone.

"Go ahead Echo." Clarke replied.

Echo stood on a bridge with Miller and Karson about half way across the crevasse that she had stood overlooking with Karson at the beginning of the evening. "We don't have all the details yet Clarke." Echo started as explanation and continued, "They need four days to sort things out to ensure we are not seen meeting."

Clarke looked to Bellamy and Madi, "It's up to Echo. We have to defer to her as she and Miller are with these people." Madi said and both Clarke and Bellamy agreed.

"We are deferring to you Echo. You have spent the time with these people here." Clarke said repeating the sentiment on the bridge.

Echo looked at Miller, her eyes flicking for a second to Karson, "Oso trust gon nau. We will radio back at sunset in four days." And she signed off. She wanted to convey that she had her doubts, but also didn't want to damage the beginnings of the alliance they had.

"We trust for now." Bellamy said softly, "If Echo is saying that, there is more going on, but for now, we keep going." He fiddled nervously with a chip in his mug. He still found it hard to think Echo may be in danger.

"We have four days. Time for the next shift anyways." Indra said and stifled a yawn, causing Madi to stifle a giggle.

"Did you actually yawn?!" She squeaked holding in the laughter as the rest of them smothered their smiles at the girl's comment.

"Not all of us have unlimited energy on limited sleep, child." Indra grumbled with only a half-hearted amount of frustration.

Madi grinned sheepishly, "Sorry." she said and Clarke walked over to her, draping an arm over her shoulder.

"Indra does have a point. There is still most of the night left. You should get some sleep." Clarke said leaning her head on Madi's affectionately.

"Come, Heda. Walk with me so I don't fall asleep before I get to my bunk." she said with a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Bellamy and Clarke chuckled as Madi exited with Indra and Octavia walked over to the pair with a serious look on her face. "So, do I need to worry about what I walked in on earlier?" She asked bluntly staring them both down.

Clarke stood with her mouth opening and closing like a fish as she was a loss for how to respond and Bellamy scowled at her as only an older brother could. "O, it's none of your business." he growled under his breath.

Octavia didn't even flinch under her brother's glare, "You're right Bell, it's not my business, but it does affect me, and the dynamic of the group." She said, standing toe to toe with Bellamy as Clarke stepped back a little.

"You're right Octavia." Clarke finally said softly and both Blake's heads snapped around to look at her.

"Clarke." Bellamy started and took a step towards her, but she held up her hand to stop him as Octavia narrowed her eyes critically at the exchange.

"Octavia, you are right. Anything that may or may not happen between your brother and I does affect the group, but we have the right, after this long to figure it out." She said as Bellamy's mouth dropped open this time.

Octavia took a moment and eyed Clarke, "Fair enough," She started and took a step towards Clarke. "It's about time you figured it out and stopped stringing him along." She stated and turned to leave.

"O!" Bellamy bellowed, and Clarke just put a hand on his arm to stop him. He turned and she shook her head with a small smile. "That was totally inappropriate." He said as the door shut behind Octavia.

"May be, but it doesn't make it wrong either." Clarke said with a tone of regret as she turned sad eyes towards him. "I always knew there was something between us, and I told myself it was because we were the best of friends, and the best partners…..but, it's more than that."

Bellamy slid his arm around her shoulder then winced as his ribs caught him in pain. "You will always be my best friend Clarke, but there is more, yes." He said and started to move them towards the door. "Now, I need to get some sleep. My head is killing me."

As he said that, Clarke looked up at him concerned and went to open her mouth but he cut her off quickly, "And yes, you can give me a check up before I get said sleep." He quipped causing her to snap her mouth shut abruptly and smile.

"One favor though?" Clarke asked as they approached her room, his arm still draped across her shoulders.

He stopped and looked at her expectantly as she fumbled for how to phrase her question, "Don't suppose you would care to pick up where we were interrupted?" She rushed out, not able to look at him. She knew right away he was beaming his damn cocky grin, but she wouldn't look up.

"Twice in one day Clarke, you surprise me." He said stepping a little closer to her till he was invading her personal space. "Are you really asking to sleep with me?" He teased quietly and cupped her chin in his hand, gently lifting her face to look as him.

She smiled lightly looking straight into his dancing brown eyes, "Purely for observational reasons." She responded teasingly and reached out to open her door.

Bellamy chuckled softly and they stepped into her room and shut the door with a hiss, this time locking it behind them. As the lock clicked shut, Madi peeked her head around the corner with an impish grin on her face.


	19. Chapter 19

**Needed a bit of a bridge chapter again till I move on with some of the story, so I hope this is tracking at a decent pace. I am having lots of fun with Bellarke...so many chances for the small moments between these two. Thank you again for all the reviews and thoughts! I really appreciate them so, as usual, please...PLEASE review!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights to CW**

Chapter XIX

Echo handed the radio back to Karson with a nod of thanks, "Well, you got your meeting. Now what?" She asked. There was still a good portion of the night left, and they had totally mixed up their schedules sleeping the day away and now being up most of the night. She figured she at least could find something to do to keep herself occupied.

"Now we find you both some food before your stomach gives you away again." Karson said with a grin and a wink. He had noticed how she had devoured the couple pieces of bread she had at the meeting with Archon, but was diplomatic enough not to ask for more than what was polite.

"Oh, thank god." Miller breathed out softly and the atmosphere seemed to relax again after the tension of the radio call.

They headed back across the bridge and into the building that had been used for the joining and there was food, and drinks spread out on a table along one of the walls. Karson grabbed a plate and gestured for Echo and Miller to do the same.

"What's the deal? Food is left out everywhere for anyone here?" He asked slightly harshly after scraping by and doing the unthinkable for six years to survive in the bunker.

Karson's usual smile wavered slightly and he looked at Miller with narrowed eyes, puzzling out the reason for his tone. "The T'Owvie are a very social community." He started gently as an explanation, "This building is for all to use and there is always a table set up and taken care of for any who are in need, or just wish to partake."

Miller shook his head in disbelief at the idea. As much as everyone was Wonkru in the bunker, in the end each person really did look out for themselves. It had been that way on the Arc, and when they had first landed as well. Living a life for a group wasn't something that he was able to wrap his mind around, but it didn't mean he wasn't thankful.

Karson broke into his thoughts, "Your people don't live to help each other as a whole?" he asked looking between Echo and Miller as the froze at his question, looking at each other.

Echo tried her hardest, but whether it was her messed up sleep schedule, or the lack of food, or stress of the new planet and everything that had happened, she didn't know, but one look at Millers face and they both started to laugh at Karson's question.

Karson moved to a table and sat down completely confused, "What did I say?" he asked and Echo sat across from him, Miller beside her.

She calmed her laughter and tried to decide how much was too much information to get into prior to Clarke and Bellamy coming and meeting with Archon. "No, that definitely has not been the way of our people. Not until recently. We are trying to evolve right now." she said with only a hint of scepticism edging its way into her voice.

"Evolve?" Karson said picking up on her tone as she took a moment to eat some of her food.

"There have been many factions in our whole over the last while, and we have united for the common goal of coming to this planet." Miller said keeping things as vague as he could.

Karson thought what he said through a little, enjoying his food for a moment as well, "I realize this is more of a conversation for our leaders." He replied, smile returning. He didn't want to push the tentative trust he had gained over the last couple days.

Echo watched him for a moment as she ate and something clicked in his behaviour. There was something about how he kept things light and superficial that kept her on guard. He was acting like a spy, and she was suddenly more aware of everything he said and did, and the fact that in the last couple of days he had managed to say nothing about himself.

"Karson, you haven't told us how you ended up here in Haven." She commented lightly, adding a light smile to her statement and watched his smile tighten on his face.

"Ah...well," He stumbled a little and looked quickly down at his plate. Suddenly something had shifted and Echo seemed to zone in on him and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "It's not a very exciting story." He said trying to deflect the focus a little.

Miller looked slowly between the two as he felt the shift in intent of Echo's questioning and he slowed his eating a little to take in Karson's posture as he shifted in his chair. "You pretty much know ours, I am sure there is a good story as to how you ended up good friends with the leader of the T'Owvie." He added, taking a drink casually, feeling Echo lean in a little at his statement.

Karson's brain went into over drive as he tried to figure out where to start or how to give just enough information that he wouldn't give away too much. He turned on his smile again and set his fork down, meeting their challenging looks, setting his shoulders, "Well, I used to be privilege to some very sensitive information that put me in danger with Krass's organization. I had no choice but to leave my life behind and run. I was just lucky to be picked up by one of Archon's people. I have been in Haven now for six years and after that long, anyone becomes friends with Archon." he said as if he had laid out his whole life in painstaking detail with the few small sentences.

Echo narrowed her eyes at him a little, then leaned back in her chair, relaxing her posture. She could keep up the dance if he wanted, and she now knew there was way more going on than he was letting on, but he definitely wasn't as good as she was. "Sounds like you were very lucky. You must have had a good life before, not to say this one is all that bad." She said leaning back a little further and stretching a bit to wave her arms to encompass the whole of the room. She watched his view rake slowly over her body as she did so and she sat back up, a smile tugging lightly at the corner of her mouth.

Miller had heard back before the bunker of how Echo was a damn good spy, but watching her maneuver Karson was astounding and he hid his face in his plate to keep from showing his smile. He had finished eating and decided to get up and give Echo room to work a bit, taking her and Karson's plate to the small kitchen, washing them up.

Echo closed her posture again and leaned forward with her elbows on the table and shifted gears again. "Any chance there is some of that tea that Archon served us?" she asked lightly.

Karson's smile twitched again and he relaxed a little feeling like he had given enough to get out of the spot light for the moment. "Not hear, but I am sure there is some of the Lovus root and spice in the kitchen at the Bracken." He said referring to the small quarters that had been assigned to her and Miller.

"The Bracken, why is it called that?" Miller piped up as he finished cleaning up and headed back to where they were seated.

Karson stood up stretching his full length as he did so, joints popping from sitting in the small chair made for a T'Owvie, "Bracken is the name of the particular vine that grows so prolifically that it gouges big pockets in stone in a short period of time. That's how the T'Owvie make new sections in rock walls without digging or blasting. It only takes Bracken about a year to carve out a room the size you have." He said as they exited the building and started up the path to the Bracken.

"Really?!" Miller said astounded by the thought. "What do you do with the plant after? It must be tough to get out of the rock." he said deep in thought.

"Not really, the root systems make short work of the rock and eventually the weight of the plant has it drop to the floor in sections, as it does, we cut back and burn it so it doesn't take off everywhere." He said as they reached the door. "Would you like me to brew you both some tea?" he added when they stopped.

Echo opened the door inviting him in behind Miller and tossing her pack in her room as Karson went through the cupboards in the small kitchen. He pulled out a couple various items and put a pot on the stove with water turning on the element.

"There's no cooling unit in here so I need to run to my place and grab the milk." He said slipping out the door as the element slowly heated the spices and slice of root in the pot of water.

As the soon as the door closed behind him Miller turned to Echo, "What do you think is going on here?" he asked keeping his voice low.

Echo frowned in thought for a moment, "I have no idea, but he definitely isn't someone that is comfortable lying, so this is something that is above him. I assume we will find out more when Clarke and Bellamy come." She said and walked over to the pot stirring it.

"Whatever it is, they must be desperate since they are being extremely accommodating. It makes me nervous for if we say no." He said with a frown and flopped down on one of the chairs with a yawn.

Clarke woke with a start and blinked a couple times, momentarily forgetting where she was until she came fully awake and realized she was alone in the bunk. "Bellamy?" She said finally focusing on the shadowy figure on the chair across from the bed.

"Sorry Clarke, I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep." He replied, head in his hands, elbows propped on his knees.

Clarke swung her feet over the side of the bunk and leaned in close, "Bellamy, what's wrong?" She asked reaching out to put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's just my head. It's really pounding." He said quietly, voiced strained from the pain. "I couldn't lay down any more, it hurt to bad." He added with sigh.

Clarke grabbed the pen light off the shelf and knelt down in front of him, "Bellamy, I need to check your eyes." She said and he moved his hands slightly, holding back his hair. She flicked the light in one eye then the others and then back again and he grimaced shutting his eyes quickly.

"Ahhhh, that hurts." He said going back to cradling his head in his hands, "I was feeling better yesterday, other than a persistent mild headache, but the short nap, then the bridge screens…." He said almost whimpering the last part.

"Okay," Clarke breathed as she thought. His pupils, thankfully, had both reacted the same but one was a little bigger than the other. It could be normal for him, or it could be signs of a head injury. Regardless, he needed medication for the headache, nothing that would thin the blood though, as it would make any kind of unknown bleed worse.

Getting up and rummaging around in he bag she got out what he needed and measured out the dose, handing it to him with some water, "Here, this will help." She said and lightly ran a hand through his dark curls.

He downed the water and medicine and sighed a little, "That actually feels nice." He rumbled quietly and leaned forward so the top of his head was resting on her stomach, his hands lightly wrapping around her thighs right above her knees, and she smiled, continuing the motion of running her fingers through his hair with both hands.

"It will take about 30 minutes for the medication to kick in." she stated quietly. Deep down she was enjoying the feeling of his soft hair sliding through her fingers. She had always liked his hair but refused to admit the fact to anyone.

His soft moan of acknowledgement of her comment sent shivers down her spine and her heart broke just a little to know he was in so much pain so she kept going, feeling his fingers slowly squeeze then relax on her legs.

"Please," he whispered softly, "Don't stop." He added so quietly that Clarke barely caught it and her heart melted with the words. "This is the most relief I've had since coming in here."

"Why didn't you tell that to me? You said your head hurt, but you never said it was this bad." She chastised in a whisper, meeting his volume.

"I know." He moaned regretfully, "I thought with some sleep…." He started, his words trailing off as he sighed with frustration.

"You know what I am going to say right?" Clarke said softly, privately relishing this private moment between them. With everything they had been through it was odd to her that running her fingers through his hair as he leaned on her would be what she considered the most intimate.

He groaned again low in his chest, "I'm going with you guys. I have four days." he said in a growling tone and Clarke sighed at his stubbornness.

She thought about it for a few minutes, letting him think he had the final say, "You have to do what I say for the next four days. No exceptions." She stated firmly.

It took a moment but he resigned himself to any concession she would lay out to be able to go. "Fine." he grumped at her.

Clarke smiled knowing that she had won, "You are going to stay in your room, no lights, no screens, no books, and minimal noise for the full four days. No exceptions." She felt him slump further into her with frustration. "Bellamy, you hit you most likely have a serious concussion. If you don't give yourself a chance to heal..."

"I know." He said cutting her statement off. He wasn't sure if it was her fingers in his hair or the medication but the intense throbbing was easing off and he tested opening his eyes in the dark. The light from the door key pad allowed him to make out dark shapes, but that was about it, and he could make out Clarke's sock covered feet right below him.

He slowly lifted his head, her hands still tangled in his hair, as he kept holding on to her legs. The movement caused him a slight moment of pain and bright explosions in his vision, but it eased off and worked its way to a tolerable intense ache behind his eyes.

Clarkes face was covered in shadows, but he could still see her blue eyes, shining with concern down at him. "The meds must be working now. It's getting better." He said with a slight smile.

Clarke tried to smile back, but she was concerned at the intensity of the headache and she resolved to send Jackson a message in the morning to ask his opinion on how to follow with Bellamy's care. For now, he needed sleep, "Do you think you can lay down?" she asked reluctantly sliding her hands down his neck and onto his shoulders.

He didn't trust nodding at this point so he took a breath, conscious not to hold it too long and half got up so he could just turn and sit back down on the bed as Clarke slid out of his way. The room stayed where it was supposed to which made him feel much better and he eased back into the bunk, groaning with the pain in his ribs. At least the medication would help with that too.

Once he was settled Clarke gently crawled in next to him, careful not to jostle him too much. "Get some sleep." She said over her shoulder at him as he wrapped an arm around her waist tightly, causing her to smile lightly as she closed her eyes.

Karson had given both Miller and Echo a clock before leaving their room for the night so they could get back on a better time system, and promised to get them late morning to show them where they would set up the meet.

Both had slept well, showered and were making a light breakfast from a few items in the cupboards when there was a knock on the door. Echo walked over and opened it wide, revealing Karson and another man, just as tall and wide as Karson.

"Echo, Miller, this is Logan, he will be helping us today to prep the site." He said lightly, familiar grin in place.

Echo and Miller nodded their hellos, and offered for them to come in. "There's a little of the tea left if you would like?" Miller offered at they ate.

"We are good. We ate already." Logan said with a thick rolling accent and smile just as big as Karson's. Echo eyed him as his gaze traveled over the room a little.

They finished up and headed out following the tall pair up the path to the back of the cavern, passing a few T'Owvie and a couple humans as they went, all saying hello with smiles and nods. Echo fell back a little in step with Miller.

"Is it just me, but I am starting to feel like there's something in the water here." Echo said nodding her head in the direction of the group they just passed.

"I thought it was just me." Miller said leaning in a little closer. "Everyone just seems so happy, smiles all the time." He said slowing a little so they dropped a little further back.

"I thought that it was just Karson's personality, but...I don't know. It seems like quite the show." Echo replied eyeing up the two broad backs ahead of her.

"Are we just being paranoid?" He asked frowning, obviously thinking about Monty's message and to be better.

"I don't know, but for now, we watch out backs just in case." Echo whispered back as the Karson and Logan slowed at the opening of a tunnel.

Karson turned back and looked at the two lagging behind, "Through here guys." he said turning back and is smile faltered, replaced with a worried look.

They walked down the tunnel as it slopped gently taking them lower and lower. Echo could smell fresh, slightly cooler air gently circulating from where ever they were headed, and could see light coming from the end about 50 feet away. The tunnel was unlike all the others as it was braced with beams and wood in even intervals down the length, bracing the rock and dirt.

They neared the end to find themselves at the start of a large open clearing, vegetation hanging over the ledge, with trees extending high above. The clearing looked to have been grass at one time, but it was short and cut off now making the floor of the clearing look like a large green carpet covered the whole area.

Echo and Miller walked out a little way in the clearing, turning in circles to take it all in. When she turned back to the entrance, she noticed a pair of T'Owvie suspended by ropes and a pulley system attaching something to the rock ledge just below the edge of the wall.

"This is incredible." Echo breathed as Karson walked over, his lopsided grin back as he watched the wonder play across Echo's face.

"This is Archon's idea." He said stretching the wide expanse of his arms to encompass gesture to the entire clearing, then pointing up at the pair of T'Owvie, "They are setting up the first of the projecting covers." He said with a slight proud tone.

"Projection covers?" Miller piped up shading his eyes to look up at the pair suspended almost 40 feet above them.

"I have helped develop a shield of sorts." Karson said lightly, "A large scale version is what protects Haven. This will shield the opening of the clearing, allowing your ship to land and stay protected and undetected." He said finally explaining the plan.

"What?! The whole drop ship?" Echo sputtered looking at Miller who had the same look of disbelief on his face.

"Yes, the whole thing." Karson repeated. "We have smaller versions, but they take too much of a power supply that we wouldn't be able to keep your party concealed for the full journey to Haven. That would put both of us at risk."

Echo shook her head, trying to comprehend what he was saying. "How the hell are we supposed to conceal a ship taking off and landing here?"

"That will require your trust." Logan said walking over to the group, "We have been able to create a window in their systems to allow you to take off, and land here."

Miller chuckled slightly, "And what about good old-fashioned eyes? How do you take care of that?" He asked trying to poke holes in what they were presenting.

Logan just tilted his head at Miller, "They won't be able to track a jump to orbit and back down." he started, his smile turning to a slight sneer. "It will just mean your leaders will have to lie about going back up to your ship."

Echo started pacing as she thought, running things over in her head while Miller and Logan had a small stare off, "It could work." She said, breaking the tension. "I can't speak for the group, and it is a bit of a risk, but it could work."

She had serious concerns about putting the ship, and their only means of transportation into this hole and at direct access to the T'Owvie, but if they were going to get to the bottom of things to be able to wake the others and all have a place to set down, it may just be an acceptable risk.

She turned and looked at Karson, "What do you need us to help with?" her eyes flicking up to the technology that was freshly installed. If she could get some of that tech to Raven or Shaw, it might come in handy if things went south.

Karson beamed at her, "We have 19 more projectors to install and calibrate." He said and turned to lead them to the rigging and box of supplies.


	20. Chapter 20

**I am sorry this chapter has taken so long. I wrote and rewrote it multiple times. I have finally managed to explain a story line I have been mulling over. So PLEASE review...pretty please...good or bad! Thank you again for all the readers, followers and favs! This journey or writing again has been amazing due to all of you! I hope you like it and again, please drop me a review!**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own any o the this...all rights to CW**

Chapter XX

Clarke had basically locked Bellamy in the crew cabin for four days on strict instructions that he do nothing. They only time he had been allowed any significant light was when had their two radio calls with Krass. They had managed a few strained conversations where he wanted to set up another meeting but Clarke and Bellamy wouldn't commit, saying they needed to go back to the ship to discuss things before doing that and would be leaving shortly.

They had spoken with Echo and Miller, agreeing finally to the landing plan and were to leave at dawn so that their re-entry would be hidden by the rising of the suns. Shaw had gotten the coordinates and him and Murphy had assured everyone that all the shielding was fixed so the trip would be completely safe.

Raven, Emori and Jordan were starting to get antsy and Raven expressed her significant concern with another meeting with the T'Owvie wanting to just find a remote part of the planet and settle without all the drama. Clarke had to admit, the thought was appealing, but they needed inside knowledge of the planet and its challenges, as well as its opportunities.

It was just about time for their scheduled takeoff, and Clarke had agreed after consulting Jackson and a thorough exam, that Bellamy would be allowed on the bridge with dimmed lighting. She was headed back to the cabin to get him after receiving Jackson's last audio file in regards to the last batch of test results she had sent him feeling much better about his prognosis. They had fallen into an unspoken routine over the last few days of her reading to him, discussing options for settling, and then spending the nights together. Although, they hadn't made any further move towards more intimate contact, but it seemed like a natural progression that they were on, neither being in a rush to push things further at the moment which was fine with her considering everything that was going on.

Clarke opened the door to the cabin and slipped inside to find Bellamy finishing up with a sink bath, hair wet, dripping down his back, shirtless, while he wiped away the residual soap off his arms and side that wasn't taped up. Clarke shifted nervously for a moment as she watched him, lean muscles of his back moving, hair in unruly wet curls brushing low on his neck. He had always been strong, and cut when they were on the ground, but this was the first time it really struck her how he had seemed to bulk up with muscle from training while on the ring.

He shifted trying to clean off the last of the soap that was sliding it's way down his back and groaned as he moved in a way that caused his ribs pain. "You know, instead of standing there gaulking, you could help me." And he turned to give her a mischievous grin over his shoulder and tossed the wet cloth at her.

Clarke laughed, feeling the color rise in her cheeks and a tight knot form in low in her stomach as she caught the rag, causing it to sprayed water over her shoulder. "But I was enjoying myself." She said by way of defense and walked over wiping away the soap on his back and tossed the cloth back in the tiny sink in the corner.

Bellamy turned slightly, dragging one hand through his wet hair, out of his face, towering over her in the small space. She had ended up by his side every night for the last three nights and it had been so peaceful, but now they were going to be meeting up with the new group and would be back around Echo and he was suddenly feeling slightly guilty for his happiness and its timing.

"Clarke," He started and leaned back against the sink, and gently taking her arms in his hands with a concerned look on his face and Clarke looked down heart pounding.

"Don't say it Bellamy." She said cutting him off and his concern turned to confusion as he looked at her panicked expression.

He lifted her chin gently to look her in the eye, "I was just going to say that we might want to be a little more reserved when around Echo. I don't want to hurt her more than I already have." He said watching the relief wash over her face.

Clarke smiled sympathetically and nodded, "I can definitely understand how she feels." She responded quietly and leaned her head into his hand that was cupping her cheek, closing her eyes for a moment.

"You thought I was going to say something else?" He asked wanting to calm her fears as she looked away again, this time in slight embarrassment.

"I, well, I guess, I thought you were going to say we needed to end things." She said admitting her self conscious fear.

Bellamy smiled at her honesty and pulled her gently into his arms, tucking her head comfortably under his chin. He felt her arms wrap around his waist, locking behind his back with a gentle pressure as to not squeeze his ribs to much. "I thought I lost you once and it haunted me every day for those six years." He said quietly, "I'm not about to voluntarily give you up at this point." He added, feeling her smile against his bare chest.

Clarke could feel his words rumble against her cheek as he spoke and her fears calmed a little with them, "Good to know." And she pulled away a little, smiling. "You better get dressed before Madi or Octavia comes looking for us." She said smiling and took another reluctant step back.

He chuckled and reached for his shirt as she headed to the door, opening it, letting brighter light into the room and she paused to see his reaction to the light. Bellamy squinted briefly and hesitated for a moment waiting for the pain that usually had followed brighter light before. There was a mild throb for a moment that disappeared almost as quickly and he breathed a sigh of relief and pulled his shirt carefully over his head, and stepped out into the hall.

By the time they made it to the bridge everyone was strapped in and ready to go. Shaw checked in the everyone in the cargo bay before counting down to take off. The engines fired and the ship shook causing Clarke's heart rate to spike as the image of Bellamy being thrown across the room flashed in front of her eyes, while the G-forces shoved her into her seat uncomfortably.

Shaw called out that they had reached the bottom of the dense layer and everyone held their breaths as he maneuvered the ship to the coordinates. The power flickered for a second, but held just before their decent and Murphy beamed announcing that him and Shaw should never have been doubted for their skills, causing all to laugh, breaking the immense tension.

The ship shuddered as Shaw counted down the final approach and Clarke stole a glance at Bellamy who was breathing hard in his seat with his eyes shut, beads of sweat dotting his forehead. "Bellamy?" Clarke said just loud enough for her voice to carry, but not as to alert the others.

He opened his eyes briefly and showing Clarke the panic that had surprisingly flooded through him the moment the ship started to shake. It had completely blindsided him with its intensity and how it took every shred of his self-control to not rip the harness off and bolt. Where he would have gone, he had no idea, but at that moment he desperately wanted out of the restraints.

The ship shuddered one last thing with a thud and came to a landing and Bellamy clawed at the harness fighting to get it off as fast as he could. Suddenly Clarke was in front of him, hands on his, undoing the clasp that didn't seem to want to let go as the panic reared and threatened to boil over inside of him. She undid the clasp with a deliberate steady, but not panicked pace until he was free, then knelt down, covering his shaking hands in hers, fixing her eyes on his and started breathing slowly.

He watched her exaggerated movements and she nodded at him to follow her actions, one shake breath in, followed by a slow, stuttered exhale. Breath by breath, his focus on her narrowed until he could feel her slow, steady pulse under his finger tips and he realized she had wrapped one on his hands around her wrist just the right way for him to feel it. The pounding in his ears began to fade as his heart slowed to match hers and he felt the warmth slowly return to his hands and fingers.

"Okay?" She said quietly breaking the bubble she had created in the moment between the two of them, and he looked up to see the others trying not to look concerned at the scene.

He cleared his through and looked back into her bright blue eyes, feeling his head clear and the shaking subside completely, "Yeah, I'm good." He said with a tight smile.

Clarke let go of her grip on his hands and stood up as Shaw raised the view shield to reveal a vegetation covered stone wall. "I liked our other view better." He muttered, powering fully down and setting up his security lock systems on the controls.

Bellamy stood with a shaky chuckle at his comment and took a couple steps testing out the strength of his legs and finding it sufficient. "Well, let's go meet our hosts." He said nodding to Clarke and Madi and they headed out.

Murphy agreed to stay back with A.J. for the first shift while all the others were going to meet the T'Owvie for the scheduled first greeting meal. After that, they would decide how things needed to be after getting a sense from Echo and Miller.

The ramp hissed to life as Shaw flipped the switched and the cool morning air rushed in to the hold of the ship. Clarke closed her eyes and breathed it in for a moment, enjoying the smell of earth and flowers and fresh rain. When she opened them she saw a group of figured immerging as the door opened.

Echo and Miller stood with two very short figures and two very tall figures. And was taken aback as they came into view, letting out a small gasp of surprise at the same time as Madi, Octavia and Indra.

"Oh….my…..God." Clarke breathed out as she stared at the man beside Echo in utter disbelief, slowly tearing her gaze away from him to look at Madi, Octavia and Indra who all had the same confused and shocked look on their faces.

Turning back, Clarke snapped back into the moment and strode down the ramp, back straight, "What exactly is going on here?!" She demanded staring down the tall, broad man to Echo's left.

His welcoming grin faltered and a shadow crossed his face as the petite young blonde came barreling up to him. It was obvious they had a lot of explaining to do in a very short period of time. "My name is Karson." He stated, bowing slightly as she scowled at him obviously furious, as the others hesitantly started down the ramp behind her.

A soft voice cut in, "Tell, child." Archon said, placing a wrinkled hand on his arm as he straightened from the bow.

"I'm Karson Krass." He said as Echo and Miller's head snapped around to look at him in shock. He no longer had his tell-tale grin, but a frown and troubled eyes.

"Krass?! As in relation to Lucian Krass?" Clarke demanded as all turned to look at the man except for those in his party. He looked almost identical to Krass, except now that she was closer, other than having dark brown eyes, longer hair and younger, but everything else was the same.

He sighed, resigned and looked at Echo, who's face had utterly close off as she looked at him with distant distain, "As in, Lucian Krass is my Father." He uttered as if the words even tasted bad coming out of his mouth while maintaining eye contact with Echo, then turned away to look back at the blonde staring him down.

Clarke opened her mouth to say something further when Archon held her hands up for silence and stepped into the charged space between Clarke and Karson. "I am Archon, T'Owvie Mother, leader. Karson trusted, sheltered with us. Come now, we eat, talk. All safe." She said extending a hand to Clarke, palm down as if she needed help to walk to where ever they were going.

Clarke blinked a couple times and looked down at the woman, her blue eyes meeting the black searching ones of age, and took a deep breath. "We expect an explanation before we decide our safety." She said much more gentle than she thought possible and found herself instinctively reaching out to take the woman's hand.

She had thought it would be more frail, but found her hand encased in a strong grip that pulled her in, tucking her smaller arm under her arm that tugged her with authority towards the mouth of a tunnel. The others followed slowly leaving Echo and Karson last in the clearing.

Karson frowned at his feet for the moment stumbling on what to say, "Echo...I..." he began, looking at the woman as she stared stonily at him.

"Save it." She said and stalked off after the rest of the group as Karson was left in the wake of her anger, cursing the position Archon put him in with the secrecy.

Archon lead the group to the multipurpose building where the joining ceremony had been, as she had a group refresh the food and drink as well as set the tables. Once everyone was in and settled with food and drink, Archon stood with her glass held up to the group.

"Hope to future and prosperity." She said with a smile to everyone in the room, "All, eat, talk, we learn of each."

The meal went slowly with conversation limited and shallow, with long parts of silence where the music softly drifted through the room. Karson kept peeking up at Echo across the table, but she refused to look at him for the length of the meal so he kept his head down and avoided the stares of the others.

"You are young blessing?" Archon asked addressing Madi lightly and there were confused looks as Madi searched for a way to answer.

"Blessing? I'm not quite sure what you mean." She said, her eyes flicking to Clarke nervously with the way she phrased it.

"Children to T'Owvie rare, blessing. We celebrate each. It join two T'Owvie." She explained setting her fork down and smiling at Madi. "You have joined parents here?" She asked looking at the group, zeroing in on Clarke and Bellamy flanking her.

Silence descended and Madi looked to Clarke for direction, and she chimed in, "I found Madi after her parents died." She said, putting an arm around Madi protectively as Bellamy shifted in his chair with the implication.

Archon's black eyes welled up with tears as she took in the two across from her, "Blessed one, truly." she said and continued to eat, her smile lighting up her eyes as she did.

Clarke's mood softened and she smiled down at Madi, "I am the one blessed." she said smiling at the girl as the tension seemed to leave the room, creating a lighter atmosphere.

Plates were cleared and hot drinks brought and shared around as full stomachs seemed to foster a more relaxed environment. Clarke leaned back in her chair and looked at both Archon and Karson expectantly, "Shall we discuss how we are to trust you when you kept a significant detail hidden from my people?" Clarke finally asked bluntly.

Archon chuckled a little with her forwardness, "You, I like." She said and looked over to Karson sobering a little as she did, "Tell, child." she said laying a hand on his folded hands.

Karson shifted in his chair, no smile on his face since the news was shared of his parentage and he risked a glance at Echo to find she was staring at him coldly with expectation. "What I said to Miller and Echo was true." He started, looking pointedly at Echo when he did, "But the story and the history of my father's rise starts long before I fled."

Karson took a deep breath and began the story of the history between the T'Owvie and the Eligis crew. He began at the very start with the arrival of the Eligis III ship to the planet and how they had used the Hythilodium in the upper atmosphere and how it decimated the T'Owvie population that were living on the surface. When the Eligis ship crashed, they suffered substantial losses and no one was going to send help in a time line that would have been able to save the survivors.

Both races ended up needing to rely on each other for survival for the next several hundred years. "This is where the rise of the Wholistic party's sinister beginnings truly started." He said taking a breath and a drink from his now cooled cup.

"The T'Owvie had lots of advanced technology that we didn't and vice versa, but at the time, there was no technology that could quickly solve the bigger problem of a dying population." He said glancing over at Archon who nodded encouragingly for him to continue.

"The Eligis III didn't just carry supplies, it carried everything that the a colonizing population would need to thrive and grow." Karson took a moment and struggled to find the difficult words, but after a moment he continued as everyone just listened in rapt silence.

He described how they didn't just have cryo on the ship, but embryotic storage, but in the crash the equipment had been damaged and a large amount of the embryos were lost. Those that survived had been able to be maintained, but there was no way to grow them initially and it took a couple hundred years for the T'Owvie and the humans to replicate the lost technology they had to make that possible. Once the technology was figured out, there was a discovered side effect to the accelerated growth process they used to accelerate the process. Those embryos grew taller on average, had a higher intellect, more muscle mass, and higher metabolism rate than the original Eligis survivors.

The original humans were able to conceive, but due to the increased radiation over the years, the ability for them to carry to term got less and less. The T'Owvie, on the other hand, had much longer lives that extended well beyond 200 years. The problem was the Hythilodium had other drastic consequences for those who had survived. Over time they discovered that their bodies were unable to produce a specific hormone needed for them to conceive. It was also discovered, that humans had a compatible hormone and with regular injections, the T'Owvie were able to once again have offspring during their appointed cycles.

Unfortunately, the problem was not so easily solved for the original humans as it had been for the T'Owvie. To prevent the complete loss of the human survivors, some extreme measures ended up being taken. They managed to combine some DNA from the T'Owvie with the humans to be able to create a hybrid population. Now, the only fully human population left were the decedents of the embryos and they were the creators of the Wholistic party.

"We had all heard rumors and whispers of Melded, those with the combined DNA, going missing, pregnancies not making it to term any more for no reason. But when I young, I started to overhear meetings that my Father had in our house and eventually, when he felt I was ready to join in the legacy," he said with a sneer, "He sat me down and told me what his group had been doing for a very long time."

The room was silent as Karson stopped to take a moment and survey the room. His words hung heavy and it was reflected in everyone's faces at the table and he took a deep breath before he delivered the rest of his story, "He detailed how there was a growing faction of the human population that resented the T'Owvie and what they had done to the original survivors so they could survive. They felt that they had lied and could have done more to help."

"Eventually he told me that they had decided to take matters in their own hands to rid the human genome, and more drastic plans for the future. The way he told me...I knew. I needed to get word out. While I was communicating to a prominent Melded council member, my father came in the room and blew up. I barely made it out of the Colony alive and was eventually found by some T'Owvie scouts. They brought me here to Archon and over the years I have helped the oppressed and endangered out of the Colony and developed the shielding system to keep everyone safe."

His account seemed to even make the air seem heavy in the room and Clarke slowly felt the peace that they were looking for, slip away with each thing he described. They were looking for a place to settle and instead found a conflict that called for her to become involved in.

"Do you know why Krass wanted to broker the alliance with us so badly?" She asked looking at both Archon and Karson.

Archon nodded slowly, "Purity is goal. You, and all on ship." Pleasing with a sad look for understanding.

Bellamy shook his head in disbelief, "And we just brought a fanatical leader, a ship full of people with full human DNA." he looked over at Clark with concern filling his eyes.

Echo sat up a thought popping in her mind from the first night they had arrived, "So if the T'Owvie need a human hormone to have children, where are you getting it now?" She asked bluntly trying to remember how many humans she actually had seen.

Archon's face immediately fell at her question and she frowned looking at Karson, nodding for him again to take over the explanation, "We can only gather a small amount of the hormone from women only, and it takes a rather large amount of the hormone to help the T'Owvie. The child you saw the first night was the only child that has been born in Haven."

Clarke narrowed her eyes at Karson and Archon, starting to feel as she did when she first woke in Mount Weather, "What exactly are we doing here?" she asked tightly and Bellamy shot her a knowing look.

Archon held up her hand to signal surrender, "We want nothing. We ask nothing. We offer only safety, peace." she said firmly, her eyes holding Clarke's skeptical gaze.

Clarke sighed, suddenly tired and overwhelmed with the load of information they had received, "We need time to talk amongst ourselves. We also need to communicate with our ship. Will that be permitable?" she asked to gauge if they were going to be trapped there.

"You wish to leave, you may. Karson will attend all needs." Archon stated with complete openness, causing a wave of relief to wash over Clarke.

Clarke stood, the rest of her group following and the T'Owvie followed suit. Goodbyes were managed and Archon set up a meeting for supper back in the common building and Karson lead the group out to the buildings where they were going to be housed, with Echo and Miller diverting to their rooms with the promise to meet up with Clarke and Bellamy in a few hours.

Clarke, Bellamy, Madi, Indra and Octavia were decided to stay in the one building while Shaw, and the other three guards bunked in the smaller house across the path. Madi giggled as she went around the house checking out each room, begging to have the middle room that had a fuzzy pillow on the bed. With only two other bedrooms and then the loft, it was unspoken that Indra and Octavia would flank Madi, leaving the loft room for Clarke and Bellamy.

They headed up the stairs, Bellamy taking his time as his knee was still stiff but moving well. Clarke looked around the open loft with a wistful as she noticed the soft earth tones, gently lit by warm pot lights. The bed was the furthest from the stairs, behind a half wall that created some privacy from the open view of the rest of the house. Clarke couldn't help but grin and go straight to the bed as it was more than double the size of the bunk in the crew quarters, with thick mattress and one of the paper-thin blankets that had been on the beds at the meeting with Krass.

She ran her hand over the bed, walking around to the far side and sat down in the plump mattress with a happy little sigh, as Bellamy stepped passed the edge of the wall so they were both blocked from the view of the others downstairs.

Clarke turned, kicking off her shoes and looking over at Bellamy with a guilty smile, "In all of this, I shouldn't be so happy about a bed should I?" she asked and laid down, wiggling a little with a happy smile. Her mind briefly transported to the moment she saw the huge bed in the lab on the island.

Bellamy laughed at her a little and sat on the edge on the bed, a shadow reflecting in his eyes, "We have landed in a huge mess, haven't we?" he said, lowering his voice a little to keep their conversation private. He could hear Madi chattering away with Octavia and Indra in the living area.

Clarke reluctantly opened her eyes with a frown, rolling on her side to face him, "What do we do Bellamy?" She asked meeting his volume level, eyes flicking towards the open area of the loft.

He sighed, hanging his head, dark curls falling over his face, "I don't know what the answer is yet, but I do think they were telling us the truth." He said softly.

Clarke nodded solemnly as his statement, "I agree, but I am worried about if we don't want to stay here. If they were telling the truth about Krass, I am very surprised he let us go back to the ship, let alone, supposedly head back to the ship." She had propped her head on her hand and was playing with a stray thread on the blanket as she spoke.

Bellamy reached out, covering her hand with his, keeping her from fidgeting, "One step at a time. It seems for now we are safe." He smiled at her and she laughed softly and nodded.

She flopped on her back with a soft sigh, "If I don't move soon, I may not get up and it's the middle of the day." She said, eyes fluttering closed again.

Bellamy lay down cradling his ribs as he did, "Not a horrible idea." He said letting the mattress swallow him into soft comfort.

Clarke laughed again as they heard Madi laugh at something Octavia said, causing her to open her eyes with another resigned sigh, "Okay, up. The others will be here soon to talk about our options." She said causing him to groan unhappily.


	21. Chapter 21

**So, I have been writing this chapter since the very beginning, trying to find a place that would seem to be a natural flow and development, while writing and then rewriting, deleting it all and rewriting some more. Please, let me know what you think, review...good, bad, or whatever. This is out of my comfort zone so I hope you like it. Thank you again for some AMAZINGLY humbling reviews, you readers have been so supportive and I can't say Thank you enough.**

 **Disclaimer: pretty sure all rights still go to CW as I think my progression might belong on HBO**

Chapter XXI

Time seemed to fly in Haven to Clarke, as there seemed to be a peace that settled over the group as a routine fell into place. Days were spent getting to know the people and Haven with tours and special events, no place or technology seemingly off limits, while supper and evenings were spent with the newly established council, being open to anyone wanting to come and sit in.

Clarke was starting to contemplate the options of bringing more people from the ship down in waves, but it was undecided on how to do it while not alerting Krass and the Colony, so for the time being, Raven, Emori and Jordan pouted about being further left out of the wonders of the planet while they were stuck in space.

Regular recorded reports were sent to Raven though, and a coded comm link was in the works so communication could be better established between the ground and the ship. Shaw was working with some of the T'Owvie, along with Raven to create the better solution, but they kept coming across problems as Raven didn't have the same technologies on the ship that were available to Shaw on the ground.

Echo seemed to clue in on the living arrangements even though Clarke and Bellamy kept things strictly professional outside their assigned house, and she seemed to put more and more distance between her and the rest of the group that she could as a result. It hurt Bellamy to watch her pull away, but he respected her distance in an attempt to allow her the space she needed to heal and move forward.

Echo had spent the evening in the council meeting and finally had enough of watching Bellamy and Clarke's shared looks and effortless partnership and had decided to leave and get some air, finding her way to the middle of the bridge over the gorge. That spot had quickly become her place of refuge after the drop ship landed.

As usual, it wasn't long before footsteps were heard making their way towards her as she leaned on the railing with her eyes closed, listening to the sound of the water far below. "Shouldn't you be in the meeting still?" Echo asked keeping her eyes closed as she spoke.

"So lost, child." Archon said quietly beside her, laying a gentle, withered hand over Echo's for a moment, then patting it softly.

"Not lost." She said softly finally looking over to the shorter patriarch, "Just needing some air." She stated with a small smile.

"Not air you need, I think. Time heal wound." She said with a wink and Echo shook her head slightly with disbelief.

"What wound Archon?" She asked innocently, not sure how or why she seemed to be having this conversation.

"You heart child. I be old, not dense or blind." She said with a laugh and a wink that seemed to break through Echo's shell.

She sighed in resignation to being called out by the old lady, "I will survive Archon. Thank you…truly." She replied softly with a genuine smile.

"Karson, good man." Archon said, patting Echo's hands again and turning to leave her be with a last wink.

Echo snorted a laugh and just shook her head at the retreating figure of the older woman as the deepening darkness seemed to melt away her form. She reminded Echo of her own grandmother, who had passed at the same time as her parents when she was young as a illness struck the village and surrounding areas. She had been left to fend for herself after that, and had almost forgotten what it was like to have an elderly figure care about her.

She sighed and closed her eyes again, listening to the water, but a ghost of a smile played on her lips replaying the parting comment that Archon had said.

Madi bounded up to Clarke with a young human girl in tow, giggling away at some comment that had been made as they approached, "Clarke, Tala wants to have me stay with her tonight," she started, then rapidly continued as she saw the concern on both Clarke and Bellamy's face. "She only lives two doors down, I will be back first thing for breakfast, you can come check on me at any time, and Archon does consider her a granddaughter…." She rattled off hopefully.

Clarke's instinct was to say no right away and not let the girl out of her sight, but Madi and Tala had been introduced at dinner the second day after they arrived and they had basically been inseparable since. Clarke peeked at Bellamy for a moment to gauge his reaction to the scene as he seemed to be becoming more and more protective of Madi in the last week, "Okay, but you are back for breakfast." She said and both girls squealed excitedly and raced off.

Bellamy chuckled beside Clarke, "The Commander at a sleepover." He said under his breath and leaning so his mouth was close to her ear, giving her shivers.

Clarke smiled at his closeness, but maintained her distance even though she wanted to just lean back into him at that moment. "She's still a kid." She said a note of sadness to her statement.

Bellamy bristled a little, "Clarke…I…." He mumbled slightly defensive, causing her to turn to look at him, eyes full of regret.

"Oh, Bellamy, no." She said, cutting off whatever it was he was going to say, "I didn't mean it as a dig to you." She said honestly repentant for him thinking she was referring to his part in Madi receiving the flame.

Bellamy was about to respond when Indra and Octavia approached, "We have been invited to go on patrol with the T'Owvie tonight using the personal shield generators." Octavia said formally. She was remaining cool to both Clarke and Bellamy but still seemed to be trying to earn her brothers trust.

"That is a great opportunity. I am sure Shaw and Raven will want a full report on it tomorrow." Bellamy responded just as formally. He was having a hard time letting his guard down around Octavia but was starting to see brief glimpses of the girl he once knew coming back over the last week.

"When do you go out?" Clarke asked, snapping Bellamy back to the present and out of his thoughts.

"They are taking us now to the Hub to get our gear, then we will head out on patrol." Indra said with a nod and turned to leave.

"O?" Bellamy said spontaneously stopping her in her tracks as she turned away, "Be careful?" He said gently, trying not to let to much worry color his tone.

One corner of her mouth twitched as she fought a smile, "Don't worry big brother." She said and turned to leave.

Bellamy huffed once and smiled, looking down at his feet as a small bit seemed to heal between them in that brief moment, then looked up at Clarke in sudden realization. She was looking up at him, eyes bright and dancing with understanding at to the thought that suddenly had come to him, and he watched her pupils dilate as her cheeks flushed.

She opened her mouth to say something when Archon came back into the room, causing all to hush their conversations. "Thank you all. We meet tomorrow." She announced with a smile and the crowd began to chatter and disperse in small groups out the few exits.

Miller came over and said his goodnights with Shaw and the rest in their group, looking tired after spending the full day learning some of the T'Owvie technologies. Clarke smiled, telling him to get some sleep and turning, moved to chat for a moment with a couple of the humans and T'Owvie that were responsible for the medical facilities in Haven.

Echo heard the increase of bubbling voices as people filed out of the building, laughter floating on the air towards where she stood and she closed her eyes again, listening to the sounds of the night and the water. Nature always seemed to calm her and clear her mind, focusing her in a way that nothing else ever did, and she heard steps approaching again.

"I figured I would find you here." Karson said softly and leaned his back against the railing beside her and she couldn't help but smile in spite of herself. "You okay?" He asked tentatively.

"Why wouldn't it be okay?" She replied, trying not to have an edge to her response. She had been avoiding him ever since it was revealed Krass was his father, but she was honestly happy that he had finally sought her out.

"Well...unless I am mistaken, you have been avoiding me for the last week or so." He said looking over at her, none of his usual lightness or his ever-present smile.

Echo sighed and stood up facing him, and he turned to face her eyes full of regret, "Echo, I am truly sorry I didn't tell you who I was." He said looking down at his hands as he wrung his fingers with nervous energy.

"I can understand why you didn't." She said with a resigned sigh. "I shouldn't have been such a bitch about it when I found out."

Karson broke out into a laugh, the tension draining out of his shoulders, "Ha, well, I wouldn't have called you a bitch." He said turning back to lean on the railing again.

Echo laughed with him a little, "Yeah, well you are too nice. I was a bitch." She said leaning back on the railing a little closer to him. His height and size always made her feel small, which was saying something as a warrior for Azgeda.

Karson laughed and tilted his head up, looking at the stars with a sigh, "What's it like?" He asked softly after a moment.

Echo looked at him as he gazed at the stars, "Boring." She said with a huff, shaking her head. And he smirked at her statement choosing to just let it go for the moment and enjoy the view.

Bellamy and Clarke made their way to the door and down the path towards their house smiling at a few people as they passed. Once inside Clarke touched a few globes, lighting the living area with a warm, soft glow. She had butterflies in her stomach as the quietness of the empty house seemed to make her more nervous and her body seemed to hum with nervous energy while it kept track of where Bellamy was in the room.

Bellamy watched Clarke fidget with the lights and move around the room seemingly keeping her distance. After all these years and the last week of nights that they had spent together, he didn't know why his mouth was suddenly dry and his palms sweaty. It wasn't like it was his first time, he never seemed to have trouble with the ladies in the past, but this was different, it felt different.

He ran a hand through his hair nervously, pulling it away from his eyes and letting out a deep breath, "Ah, did you want me to make something? Or get us some drinks?" He asked unsure of himself in the moment.

Clarke looked across the room, feeling her face flush, and then laughter bubbled up in her nervousness, "How long have we been saying we should have a drink together?" She found herself giggling.

He smiled, watching her eyes sparkle, "Probably since I started calling you Princess." He responded with a lopsided grin.

She laughed at the use of his nickname for her as she hadn't heard him call her that in a long time and walked over to where he was standing in the kitchen, getting glasses and pouring them both a drink of some of the deep red spirit that the T'Owvie brewed.

Bellamy handed her a glass and she sipped it carefully as it was more potent than anything Jasper or Monty had made and the silence stretched out again between them. Bellamy tapped his toe against the bottom of the counter and finally decided to move to the couch and sit, nodding his head to Clarke to follow him.

"It's been a long time since I have had any kind of silence." Bellamy said and he closed his eyes for a moment, leaning his head back on the couch just enjoying the quiet, then added, "Even on the ring there was some kind of constant noise."

Clarke smiled, thinking about her time with Madi, "When Madi was young, I would put her to bed then go out to the ridge. It was so quiet in the valley since there very few animals that survived the radiation, but it wasn't quite the same."

A shadow passed across Bellamy's face, "I used to sit by a portal and watch as the valley would pass below the ring. But it was never quiet." He said softly.

Clarke set her cup down and moved to the couch beside him, curling into his right side, "We made it through," she said against his chest. "And for what it's worth, we seem to have found some kind of peace, for the moment."

Bellamy smiled sadly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "I don't trust it." He said softly, the words rumbling against Clarke's cheek, "I want to, but I keep expecting something bad to happen, like the fates have decided I don't get to be happy." He confessed sadly.

"I can definitely understand that feeling." She said more to her self than as a reply, "But I want to take a page from Monty and Harper's book." She added sitting up a little to look Bellamy in the eye. "I want to find the happy moments, and just hold on to them."

He smiled at her and reached over, setting his cup down with only a mild wince of pain in his ribs, "I like that idea very much." He said and cupped her cheek in his hand, gently drawing her face in till their foreheads touched. His breathing sped up as his eyes fluttered closed and he hesitated, feeling her breath slide across his skin.

Clarke was already wound tight with anticipation and desire to kiss him again since their very first kiss in the infirmary so when he paused, she took the initiative and closed the small space between them, bumping her nose against his lightly as she did. Her soft laughter at her awkwardness was quickly swallowed up by their lips meeting and the world fell away in that instant.

Bellamy wanted to take things slowly, and enjoy the moment with Clarke, but it seemed the second her lips met his, a fire sparked inside him that he never knew could be so intense. Without even thinking about it, his hand fisted in her hair, tilting her head to the side so he could capture her mouth completely, while a soft groan reached his ears, and he realized it had been his own. He felt her melt into him, one hand pinned between them and the couch while the other wound it's way through his hair to the back of his neck.

Clarke felt his tongue slide across her lips and she opened her mouth, tasting the sweetness and tang of the residual alcohol as they explored, causing her stomach to tighten and radiate heat lower. His hair was silky as it tickled the top of her hand as she clasped his necked, and it seemed like all her senses and nerves were on fire. Her heart was pounding in her ears and both of their breathing was mingled in short gasps.

It took all his self control to move back a little from Clarke, leaving his forehead on hers as they panted together. He opened his eyes to see her lips flushed and swollen from their kiss and the fire roared again inside and he closed his eyes to slow the sensation, focusing on her hand in his hair, and heat radiating from her.

"Um, should we….." He said just barely above a whisper, moving his head back slightly. His voice was gravelly with desire while he watched her eyes open, shining bright blue, pupils huge with desire and it was almost his undoing, "Clarke…" He breathed out in utter wonder that she was looking at him that way.

His eyes were so dark that they were almost all black, staring at her in such an intense way as she desperately tried to calm her breathing and her heart rate. They had spent almost every night together for the last two weeks, and it had her wound up in knots with an anticipation of this moment, but she hadn't really anticipated his response to it and her heart felt like it was going to burst with the realization he was feeling the exact same way she was. This thing between them had been building from the moment he caught hand to keep her from falling in the pit while they were trying to save Jasper, till now, and Clarke never realized how big it was until this very moment.

"As quiet as it is, we should take this upstairs so we won't get walked in on?" Clarke said hoping that was where he was going with his comment.

He smiled his playful grin, "Are you suggesting we go to bed?" He teased, unable to help himself and she pulled back a little further, sliding the hand that was in his hair down to his chest, nearly branding him with heat through his thin cotton shirt.

"Bed, yes. Sleep…" She trailed off as she got up and walked towards the stairs, flashing a little flirty smile over her shoulder at him as she did making him laugh as he got up and followed her up the stairs.

Clarke waited by the bed as Bellamy closed the distance across the small loft room with a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth and eyes dancing as he took her in, and her heart started to pick up its pace again. He pulled her close with a sense of purpose, one hand in her hair again and the other circling her waist, hand on her back, fingers splayed pressing her to him. Her body fused against him down the length of her front as she placed one hand over his heart, and the other around his neck, fingers naturally seeking out his soft, untamed curls at the nape of his neck.

He hesitated as she lifted on her tip toes to kiss him, moving back for a moment to look her in the eyes, all humor gone, his brow furrowing, "Are you sure?" He asked quietly, concern and doubt coloring his tone.

Such a simple thing to ask, regardless of the nights and history between them and her heart nearly burst, "I don't think I have ever been so sure of something in my life." Clarke answered back just as seriously and pulled him in for a kiss to accentuate her words.

The fire in him became on inferno at her words and his arms tightened reflexively in response, crushing her to him in perfect harmony. Her mouth moved with his, their breaths mingling as they parted to shift their heads and he wanted more. Moving from her lips he trailed kisses along her jaw to her earlobe, taking it gently between his teeth with careful pressure as he continued to pin her body against his and was rewarded with a soft "Ahhh…." While he teased the sensitive skin just below her earlobe with his rapid breath.

Shivers ran down her spine at the contrasting sensations of his warm mouth and lips, followed by his breath cooling her slightly damp skin. His breathing tickled her ear and her brain registered that he was gasping just as fast as she was while his hand in her hair tilted her head to the side so he could continue his assault on her skin with his mouth moving lower, to the sensitive pulse point, then her collar bone.

Bellamy reluctantly released her hair from his hand and slid it around her back, reaching them both up to the base of her neck as she arched her head back in response to his kisses to her collar bone along the edge of her shirt collar. She felt like liquid fire in his arms, while smelling like the soft floral scent of her soap and fresh night air that they had walked in.

Clarke's hands seemed to move on their own, winding her fingers in his satiny curls, encouraging his head and mouth to go lower while she arched against him, face tilting up to the ceiling. She felt his hands slip from her neck, following her spine, all the way down to the edge of her shirt, where he slipped them under and back up to her neck, skin on skin, lifting her shirt as he moved higher. She felt a shiver and goosebumps rise at the sudden loss of his heated hands while they moved, giving way to the cool evening air in the house.

He felt Clarke edge away ever so slightly as his hand reached her neck, causing her shirt to bunch at the base of her arms and she allowed him to slip it off completely, looking at him with partially hooded eyes, chest heaving between them, her pulse pounding a rate that matched his. He dropped her shirt to the floor, reaching to smooth a few strands of blonde hair away from her face.

He couldn't help but take her in, in that moment, gaze raking over her flushed flesh, two points clearly visible through the thin fabric of her bra, a physical sign of her arousal, while her blue eyes were full of desire and lust, mixed with…..something he couldn't quite describe. Before he could stop it, he whispered hoarsely, "You are so beautiful," accentuating his words purposely.

Clarke flushed, a shock jolting through her, causing her stomach to tighten at his words. His voice so sincere and vulnerable in the moment and she was at a loss for how amazing that made her feel. His eyes were on her, looking at her as if she was his own personal Shallow Valley in a lifetime of desert and she wanted more. It was a heady feeling to know he felt this way about her and she wanted to show him just how she felt about him.

She stepped back into him, hands grasping the bottom hem of his shirt and she lifted it slowly, letting her fingers barely skim across his skin all the way up his chiseled chest, his perfect physique marred by the tight tape holding his ribs on the left side. He helped her pull the shirt off the rest of the way and she dropped it on the floor, next to hers, then ran gently fingers over the tape, careful to avoid the part of the ribs that caused him to be ticklish.

"We will need to be careful." She said with a slight frown, and looked up to his face as he studied hers.

He just smiled softly, taking her hand in his and lead her to the bed, "I'll be fine." He whispered back quietly, he sat on the edge of the bed, kicking off his shoes and pushing back, while guiding her with him.

She slipped out of her shoes, letting them drop, and crawled onto the bed as he lay back watching her with unveiled lust. She hovered over him for only a moment before lowering her mouth to kiss the fresh scar above his eye, then slowly worked her way lower, scattering kisses over his cheek, then jaw, then neck as his hands wandered over her skin, finally making their way to the clasp of her bra. She froze in her decent to give him time to undo the fastening and slip each arm out of the strap before he tossed it in the general direction of their shirts on the floor, before she continued to make her way down his chest, her, now bare skin trailing over his stomach, causing his hips to arch up to increase the friction.

Clarke reached the low-slung waist line of his pants, and ran her tongue in a lazy circle over his hip bone feeling him wiggle with the sensation and suck in his breath. She trailed her tongue across his tight stomach to the other hip bone as he wound his hands in her hair arching and groaning in pleasure.

"You are going to be my undoing." He breathed gently lifting her head and, guiding her back up, to roll her on her back, pinning her lower body to the bed with his, her hair fanning out on the pillow like a golden halo.

He paused, catching his breath as he looked down at her, soft, pale skin, and golden locks, suddenly overwhelmed with the moment and the beautiful woman in his arms. All of the extraordinary circumstances they had been through over the many years to get them to this moment flashed through his mind. Clarke stared into his dark eyes and watched the unguarded emotions play across his face, starting with desire, to wonder, and sliding into uncertainty before leaning back down to kiss her with a searing passion that washed away any doubt in her mind of how much he wanted to be with her.

He leaned his weight to the side so he could glide his hand from her hip to her breast, cupping it with a gentle pressure and sliding a thumb over the tight peak teasing, creating a spark that shot straight down between her legs, making her respond with her own moan into his mouth, causing the fire inside to roar to life and he knew this time there was no slowing things down.

He moved his hand back down the length of her body trailing, what felt like shots of electricity through her nerves to the edge of her pants and a sense of urgency took over her, her hands matching his, going to the button on his pants, undoing it and pushing them as far as she could. He was doing the same and they parted to remove them, both chuckling with the shift in need to be close, without the barrier of the thick material, then clashing back together, legs tangling.

Bellamy huffed with a shot of pain from his ribs, but stopped Clarke's concerned response with his mouth and by moving his free hand between her legs, fingers flitting over the hardened nub over the thin damp material causing her buck against his hand and throw her head back in the pillow with a "Ahhhhhh," that made him smile and delved further, shifting the material to the side.

Clarke's body hummed with the building pressure to the point that she wanted to beg for him to release her from the torture. All she could do was breath, her hips moving against his torturing hand and fingers, by no will of her own as the intensity increased incrementally inside her, threatening to explode as she teetered on the edge.

She forced her eyes open, to meet his dark gaze, "Bellamy….if….you don't…..stop…..I'm going to…." She stuttered out between ragged breaths.

Her eyes were hazy with passion, pupils so wide the beautiful blue was reduced to a small circle of intense color, "Let go." He breathed matching the clenching of her muscles around his fingers with his own strokes.

Clarke closed her eyes as she plummeted over the edge, stars bursting behind closed eyes as all her neurons fired at the same time that her muscles spasmed in waves around his fingers. Her moan was drawn out and satisfied as her body sagged while the final wave ebbed away, leaving her spent and panting in his arms.

Clarke lazily opened her eyes to see his smile, as if he was thoroughly pleased with himself while he watched her get her breathing under control. She couldn't help but become self conscious in her vulnerability of the moment as she realized his fingers hadn't moved and her stomach tightened again just at the thought, everything hypersensitive.

With a renewed sense of boldness she tightened her muscles and tipped her hips into his hand to see his eyes shut at the sensation he was feeling and his tongue darting out to wet his lips. Clarke nearly came again at his response to her action and she gently pushed him on his back with a hand on his chest and a push of her hips again into his hand that caused her to gasp at a deepening sensation.

"Arggg, God, Clarke…" Bellamy breathed out between clenched teeth and squeezed his eyes shut desperately grasping for the last bit of control he had left.

Clarke reached her hand down, gently guiding his hand away from her reluctantly as she slipped out of the last piece of clothing. While she did he dared to watch her as she knelt on the bed beside him fully naked, a shy smile playing on her lips before she lifted an eyebrow glancing down to his last item of clothing baring the way.

He discarded his boxers, and Clarke placed a hand on his chest, keeping him on his back as she straddled, hovering above him. He ran his hands up her thighs, to her hip bones, waist, all the way up till he cupped both breasts, teasing each to a tight point, causing her breath to speed up and eyes to flutter closed.

Clarke leaned forward, slipping her hands behind his neck while kissing him soundly. She grazed her teeth over his bottom lip and rocked her hips against him making his hands shoot down to gasp her hip bones stilling her at just the right angle. Clarke lifted her face away from his to look his in the eyes and watch his face as she shifted her weight back on him, filling herself with him completely.

Bellamy shut his eye, gripped her hips stopping any further movement for a second, as he was overcome with the shockingly hot and tight sensation. His body screamed, nearly vibrating against the restraint he was forcing on it and he was sure Clarke was going to have bruises on her hips from how tight he held her in place as he panted.

Clarke slowly sat up and rolled her hips forward against him, making him groan in pleasure, his eyes opening, and all semblance of control gone with her simple movement. She smiled and let his hands guide her quickening pace as the pressure built quickly, spurring her onward to the ultimate climax.

She reached the edge and Bellamy gave a sharp groan and found his own release that pushed her over the edge and she folded over, hands braced on either side of his head as she was over come with pleasure, their movements slowing, stroking the last waves as they crashed in a regular easing rhythm till she stilled, his hands capturing her face and kissing her lightly between ragged breaths.

Her arms began to vibrate with the maintained effort of holding herself up, so she disengaged with a small, soft moan and tucked herself in to his side closing her eyes as she laid her head on his chest. They were both damp with a light sheen of sweat and she felt him tug on the thin blanket, pulling it over them both.

They laid like that for a few stretched out minutes, basking in the stillness of the moment and utter pleasurable exhaustion until Bellamy started to chuckle lightly and Clarke lifted her head to look at him in confusion. "It's a good thing we were alone," he explained softly, "I don't think either of us were exactly quiet."

Clarke smiled sheepishly with her own soft laughter, then sobered, suddenly overcome with self doubt. She far from regretted what had just happened between them, but there was no going back now and their relationship would be forever changed.

She looked into his eyes desperately seeking support as he reached up and smoothed her hair away from her face, sliding gentle fingers along her jaw line, "I will never regret tonight," he said reading the thoughts clearly playing out in her concern filled eyes. "Tonight was….like nothing I have ever had before. You are like nothing I have ever had before." He tried to articulate and settled for a soft kiss as if it would translate everything he was feeling in that moment.


	22. Chapter 22

**He all, sorry these chapters are coming out a little slower than I would like, but I have been struggling to get them out of my head in a way that translates. Hope you like this one, it's a little shorter, but I am already working on the next chapter so it shouldn't be as long. Thank you again for such amazing reviews! I can't express how much it means to me, so on that note...keep them coming!**

 **Disclaimer: all rights to CW...still**

Chapter XXII

It didn't take long for Bellamy to fall into a sound sleep with Clarke nestled snugly against his side, so when a pounding sound slowly started to break through his consciousness he struggled to fully wake up until Clarke's urgent voice broke through his sleepy haze.

"Bellamy?!" Clarke urged, shifting to a sitting position and moving to the edge of the bed with sudden urgency. "Bellamy, wake up, something's wrong!" And she scrambled to gather her clothes, getting dressed while she muttered, and swearing as she couldn't find her bra.

He snapped awake in an instant, groaning in sudden pain as he twisted to get out of bed, not thinking about his ribs, and saw Clarke's blonde head pop up to make sure he was okay before hopping to the stairs as she put on her pants while she moved. He cursed, supporting his ribs as he got out of bed and hurried to dress hearing the door open below.

Echo and Karson rushed in to the living space as Clarke turned on a few more lights, "We just got word that one of our scouts has been brought into the medical facility unconscious." Karson said urgently.

Echo froze near the couch as Bellamy appeared at the top of the stairs pulling his shirt over his head before descending, Echo's eyes flitting between Clarke's disheveled appearance and Bellamy's matching, flushed look. Her eyes dropped the second his met hers and she clenched her jaw against the wave of hurt and anger that reared inside of her.

Clarke looked at Karson with slight confusion for a moment, "Are you needing medical help?" She asked moving to get her shoes, but Bellamy's voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Indra and Octavia were with the scout, weren't they." He stated, voice grave as he hit the main floor, addressing Karson as he spoke.

Karson nodded slowly, "They were. Another scouting group found the injured one after they didn't make their first check in. There's signs of a fight at the location, some blood, but no sign of the other three."

Clarke looked to Bellamy, his face stony with concern as he moved to grab his shoes beside her, "Bellamy, it's probably Krass, we need to get on the radio." Then she looked up at Echo, "Get Shaw, we need that secure communication to Raven and the ship...now." She stated firmly, ignoring the flash of emotion Echo threw her way.

Echo nodded, slightly happy for the excuse to leave the room and rushed out to get Shaw, leaving Karson staring after her with a small concerned frown.

"We can all meet at the Hub." Karson said hesitating as Clarke and Bellamy got their shoes and coats on.

As they exited, Shaw and Echo were coming out of the other house and they rushed to the Hub with a sense of purpose. They were met by the two T'owvie who were monitoring communications, power to the shield and multiple cameras at the various exits.

"We search, found happening." One of the T'Owvie struggled to explain as he typed on a strange looking keyboard, bringing up the video.

The video played showing nothing to start, then Clarke remembered that Octavia mentioned they were wearing the personal shields. Suddenly, sparks showered revealing the two scouts with Indra and Octavia, collapsing in pain as four other tall, broad figures entered the frame. Octavia struggled to her feet, placing herself between the fallen three and the attackers. Clarke could feel Bellamy stiffen with tension beside her and she slipped a hand in his for support as they watched the four large figures approach Octavia on the screen, they obviously did realize who they were facing, even in her injured state. The fight began with Octavia taking down the closest assailant with a lightning fast combination of punches, and he dropped like a stone causing the other three to pause and approach more cautiously even though she was stumbling.

The fight continued and Octavia managed to take down one more before being over whelmed and hit over the back of the head, slumping to the ground. The video continued showing help arriving to gather up Octavia, Indra and one of the scouts, as well as their own downed man before being startled by something and rushing off leaving the injured scout that was found and brought in.

Bellamy was slowly squeezing Clarke's hand harder and harder as he watched the video, and it was starting to hurt, but she didn't move or say a thing. He turned to Karson with an intense look on his face, "When can we go to radio our ship?" he asked, his full authoritative tone.

"We can go right now." Karson replied grabbing a bag of equipment and leading the way with Bellamy, Clarke and Shaw in Tow.

Clarke stopped them once out the door, "Can you get someone to get Madi? She needs to know what's going on." And Karson tilted his head with a confused look but nodded and headed back in to the Hub to have someone alert the girl.

The moment they were clear of the shield Bellamy was on the radio with Raven, trying to figure out a plan to best contact Krass and figure out where their people were being held. Emori and Jordan got on the secured comms issue as Jordan had a breakthrough on one of the issues they were having and promised a full report to Shaw in the next 15 minutes on a data stream.

Bellamy turned, pulling Clarke through the twilight out of ear shot of the others, "We are going after them together, and we aren't going to argue about it." He said pleading with her for unity on his statement.

There was just enough light to make out the worried lines on his face and Clarke fought the urge to take him in her arms to comfort him, "Agreed. This is Octavia and Indra we are talking about. We do this together….. _our_ responsibility." She stressed and squeezed his hand.

Octavia groaned, pain seemingly everywhere in her body and she felt like she had been hit with one of the prisoner's sonic guns again. Her head hurt the worst and she tried to focus on the dark surroundings, but her eyes were blurry with pain. She reached out, hands feeling around to find she was on a bed or cot of some sort with a wall to her right that was cold, smooth stone, like the walls in the bunker and her body started to panic at the thought.

She tried to get up and groaned again as the whole room seemed to lurch into a spin and she laid back down on the bed, breathing heavily, fighting the bile that rose in her throat. As the room was calming down, she heard footsteps approaching, with an echoing click and she carefully rolled to her side, calming her breathing to appear as still asleep. She heard the steps enter the room and a soft click as a soft light reflected through her closed eyelids.

Something was set down on the floor by her head and there was a scraping sound as if a chair was being dragged across the floor, followed by the sound of rustling as the person sat. "I know you are awake Octavia." A smooth low voice said from across the room making her catch her breath slightly and she slowly opened her eyes testing them against the light.

The light caused only a mild pain and she took a second to gain her barrings and let her eyes focus, seemingly better with the ability to make out her surroundings. She looked up to see a halo of blonde hair and piercing blue eyes staring at her from the corner and it clicked. "Avin." She said with a sigh realizing she must be in the Colony. "Where is Indra?" She demanded lacing her tone with a menacing growl.

The corner of his mouth twitched and he leaned back casually in the chair as if he was in complete control of the situation, "She is safe. Relatively unharmed." he crossed his outstretched legs at the ankles, eyeing her carefully. "I know you won't, but I was ordered to bring food."

Octavia nodded carefully, with a small smile on her face, "So you know what Krass has planned then." She stated, poking the bear a little more.

He slowly sat up, resting his large arms on his knees, glaring at her, "I know that if your leaders don't cooperate that it won't be good for you." he threatened, eyes flashing.

Octavia laughed at his threats, wincing and coughing as it seemed her body wasn't ready for an action like that. While she held her chest as she coughed, Avin's sneer broke for a moment and she though she saw concern as he looked like he held back from crossing the room to help her and her mind started to chew on the knowledge and how she could use it.

"Am I allowed water?" She asked as the coughing subsided while the effort had caused her head to start pounding again and it seemed she had acquired a split during her fight that had opened up again and was bleeding and she wiped a smear of blood across the back of her hand, and checking the cut with her tongue.

He looked at her briefly as if he was trying to decide if it was safe for him to leave, then rose slowly, and exited. Octavia took the moment to do a check as to her injuries, further to her split lip. There was a mat of dried blood on the back of her head and the area was tender, but seemed to be in one piece, while her knuckles were split and bruised from where she had hit the first assailant. She discovered she had a burn by her right collar bone in the shape of the same of the person shield devise she was wearing and there was spider web-like thin burn lines extending out for a few inches in each direction.

Avin returned in that moment and Octavia caught the same flash of concern as he spotted the burn as she was stretching the collar of her shirt down to have a look, before his face closed off to a mask of indifference. He handed her the water and slumped back in the chair watching her critically.

Echo had stayed in the Hub with the T'Owvie as she really didn't feel like being around Bellamy or Clarke at the moment. She knew that he would be pretty much in consolable with worry so it would help no one for her to be standing around waiting for word on Octavia and Indra. The T'Owvie discussed their work in soft tones of their fluid language and it seemed to calm her frustrations on not being able to do anything when she spotted something on the screens.

"There!" She said hopping out of her chair and pointing at a screen between the two T'Owvie, "Where is that?" She demanded.

"Field. Above ship." One said hesitantly flitting his look at his partner then back at the intense look on her face. "Get Karson there now." She said as she busted out of the Hub in a run back to her suite.

She grabbed her pack and sword that she had taken off the ship to her room a few days earlier and took off in a sprint to the path that they had used to get to the top of the roofless cavern that held the ship. She had rounded the corner of the cavern and headed up the narrow, overgrown path, only stopping a moment to scan the area around the dark ship, listening to the noises of the night. She slowly made her way up the path soundlessly, staying to the darkest shadows, slowing her breathing so it wouldn't be heard. As she approached the top of the path, she slowed again, moving in complete stealth in the direction of where the security footage had shown a large, shadowy figure stalking its way toward the mouth of the path.

She heard a crunch of leaves and froze in the darker shadow of a large tree, slowly unsheathing her sword as the shape came into view around a trunk of a tree about 50 feet from where she was hidden. Sliding soundlessly around the opposite side of the tree Echo moved to flank the stranger, masking her progress from view as she did, noticing that the other was moving slowly in attempt to stay hidden, but wasn't doing the best of job at it. She made it to another larger trunk and froze in wait as the figure approached so she could come up behind them. Their progress was clearly indicated with snapping of small branches and rustling of leaves as they walked ever closer and she instinctively held her breath as they passed where she was hidden.

She hesitated a few moments longer and was just about to move forward when two iron like arms wrapped around her, on hand clamping over her mouth in a vice grip.

"Don't!" a voice hissed, lips brushing her ear and she recognized Karson's tone, and relaxed her momentary thrashing against his grip.

He released her mouth, but kept her in the tight circle of his arms effectively pinning her sword pointed down alongside her legs and she vibrated with fury. His mouth stayed in near contact with her ear sending a very different contrasting sensation through her, stoking her anger even higher. They stood frozen, watching the figure make their way past the entrance of the path and continue further and eventually out of sight through the trees, but Karson still held her in place for a few minutes further before she felt his grasp release and she turned on him.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" She nearly spat at him in short whispered tones, raising herself up to be almost nose to nose with him in her fury. "We could have had a prisoner of our own to question!" She hissed, shoving against his solid form.

It was still the complete dark of night, but she could make out the corner of his mouth curve up in a grin as his eyes danced with humor by her actions, "I was keeping you from making a big mistake." He said trying not to laugh.

"Mistake? MISTAKE?! What part of having a hostage would be a _mistake_?!" She nearly hit him she was so angry with how he was acting.

Karson sighed and pointed in the direction of where the figure had disappeared into the night, "That was one of our scouts." He whispered, putting an instant stop to her fuming, and he let a small chuckle out, "I don't think he would have made a good hostage."

It was a good thing that it was so dark because for the first time in her life Echo felt a deep flush of embarrassment rise in her face, "Oh. Well….." was all she could manage to get out as she hung her head, unwilling to look him in the eye.

"Come on, let's get back." He whispered and turned to leave the shadow of the tree they were standing in when they heard some branches snap and a couple quick foot falls, causing them to freeze where they were and scan the trees.

Echo saw the figure first, following almost the exact same line that the Haven scout had traveled along the edge of the shield. The figure would stop every so often and check the path for sign, showing her that they were obviously tracking the scout's movements, and she felt Karson tense behind her as he moved close to her, his body close enough to her back that she could feel his warmth in the cool night air. She reached back, tapping his hand then motioning that they should split up and flank the intruder on either side, then she tapped her chest and pointed the direction she was going. As she stalked away, she felt his warm hand brush across her back as acknowledgement and silent support before he headed in the opposite direction.

For being such a large man, a part of Echo's mind made note of the fact that she hadn't heard him approach her initially, and didn't hear him make his move around to the other side of the tracker, and she was slightly impressed. She caught a slight movement in the trees when he was in position and before she was quite ready, he advanced on the enemy.

Coming around the tree that blocked her view, she heard the sounds of fists being landed on solid flesh, with muffled groans and a heavy body stumbled back towards her position and she moved swiftly, striking them on the back of the head with the rounded butt end of her sword, effectively dropping them unconscious with a crash to the forest floor.

Karson appeared before her panting with a cut visibly bleeding over his left eye and smirked satisfied to see the other man on the ground, "Nice." He said flashing a grin at Echo.

She reached into her pack and got some binders out and secured his hands before rolling the tracker over slightly as Karson leaned down and unceremoniously yanked him up and over his shoulder with a grunt. "After you." He motioned quickly in the direction of the path leading back into Haven, and Echo huffed a half chuckle of surprise to how easily he seemed to lift the large man.

They made their way quickly back into Haven, but Echo stopped him before they went down the tunnel towards the living area, "Follow me. It will be better to keep him locked in the ship. It will keep Haven a secret still." She said, veering off towards the door.

She keyed the comms, telling Murphy to let them in and after a few moments the ramp hissed to life and started to lower. Murphy was standing at the top, hair disheveled with a grumpy expression that turned to suspicion on seeing Karson with the body of someone hanging over his shoulder.

"We need a secure storage Murphy." Echo said as they came up the ramp, his eyes never leaving Karson carrying the other man.

"Damn, I always miss the fun." He quipped and Echo rolled her eyes but a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she patted him on the chest as she passed.

She opened one of the small, locking storage rooms and Karson dumped the body on the floor, not taking any particular care in how the body landed before crouching down to get a better look at the face of the tracker.

"Shit." He stated in frustration causing Echo and Murphy to step a little closer to see what he was looking at. "It's Bran Visage." Karson said, as if that was all the explanation needed, getting up suddenly and Echo glanced down at the unconscious man with a deep scar across his cheek. "I need to speak with Archon. Now." He said moving from the space and shutting the door.

"What's going on, Karson?" Echo questioned, planting herself firmly in front of him. She was done with secrets. "He is the reason my Father walked in on my conversation warning the council member of his plan. He betrayed me." He growled out, his voice taking on a deep menacing tone.

Echo eyed him for a second then stepped aside, "No one will question him before you get back." She said, and he nodded sharply before heading off with a sense of purpose. Echo turned to Murphy, "Keep him locked in there. I am going to get Bellamy and Clarke." She said turning to leave.

Murphy threw his hands in the air, "What the fuck did I miss?!" And Echo stopped realizing they probably weren't manning the radio calls in the middle of the night since things had been so calm for the last week and a half.

She turned back and relayed what had happened with Octavia and Indra and how they got the guy that was now locked in the storage compartment and Murphy shook his head. "I really do miss all the fun. Go, get Bellamy and Clarke. I will watch this guy." And he ran a hand through his messed-up hair before hopping up on a crate beside the locked door.

Echo nodded and turned on her heal to find the others.


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey there peeps! Most sincere apologies for such a long wait for the latest chapter, sickness, family stuff and some serious overtime has made finding time to get my thoughts out a serious challenge. Here it is though. Please, please, PLEASE review, and THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to the faithful readers and reviewers to date! This is TRUELY a great group! Keep it up! I want to know your thoughts on where I am taking things as its going to ramp up quickly in the next bit!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing...all rights to CW, cause if I did own something, I wouldn't have to work so damn hard**

Chapter XXIII

Echo was rounding the corner back to the Hub when she ran into Madi who was looking slightly panicked as she jogged along the path, "Are you heading to meet Bellamy and Clarke?" She asked glad the girl would be able to lead her to where they were.

"Yeah, someone came and got me and said there was something urgent going on." She said slowing her breathing and watching Echo expectantly.

"Let's go find them and we will fill you in." Echo said dodging the explanation so she wouldn't have to explain things twice.

They met up with everyone and Echo noted that Karson wasn't there and wondered if he had gone to speak with Archon. Clarke, filled in Madi on the information they had and Echo cut in at the end of the explanation getting Bellamy's attention with her news about the prisoner that Murphy was guarding on the ship.

"And Karson said it was Bran?" Clarke said with a note of surprise and Bellamy eyed her, "He was a part of the group that met us with Krass."

"We know he is in the inner circle then. Let's go and have a little chat with this guy." Bellamy growled, his old tone of menace lacing his words.

They made their way to the ship and Murphy lowered the ramp and they could hear the banging and muffled yells as they made their way up the ramp.

"He's grating on my last nerve." Murphy said face scowling as the banging continued on the door, visibly rattling it at its hinges.

They all paused a moment to watch the door carefully waiting to see if it would hold with the onslaught and Murphy's eye widened and he looked at the group, "What are these guys?!" And Madi couldn't contain a slight snicker.

Clarke walked over and flipped the switch on the intercom to the small room, "Bran, it's Clarke. I am opening the door, you need to calm down and step back." She said and Murphy pulled out a rifle, pointing it at the door as the shaking on the hinges stopped.

Clarke waited for a couple more moments then flicked open the lock, opening the door slowly, Echo's blade raised and Murphy focusing his aim. Bran stood, sweating at the back of the small room, knuckles bruised and bleeding from hitting the door. He glared at Clarke menacingly, eyes flicking to Echo's sword and Murphy's rifle obviously calculating his chances of escape. He took a moment before relaxing his stance and sat down on a battered cate.

Clarke relaxed a little and approached the door frame, "Where are our people Bran?" Clarke said wasting no time in her questioning.

Bran scowled, "I don't know." He said as he wiped his knuckled across the leg of his pants smearing the blood and wincing slightly with the movement and looked at Clarke with resignation, "Why did you hide with these people Clarke? I thought your goal was peace?"

Clarke's eye flicked to Bellamy's and she stepped closer deciding to try a different tactic, "Will you let me look at your hands?" And she could feel Bellamy's disapproving look boring a hole in the back of her head.

There was an emergency med kit on the wall beside the room and the opened it quickly grabbing some bandages and antiseptic, showing him what she had as a peace offering.

"I will be fine, but if it makes you feel better." He grumped back wiping away more blood on his pants then holding up his hands.

"Clarke." Bellamy said putting as much disapproval in his voice as he could. He knew she would go in that room the second he saw any trace of blood on the man, she just couldn't help herself.

Clarke looked back at Bellamy with a reassuring look and then flicked look to Murphy, giving a quick nod. He steadied the rifle and gave a nearly imperceptible nod to her as it to tell her he had her back.

"I'm coming in, but if you try anything, by friends will not hesitate to kill you." She stated bluntly as a warning and Bran held his hands up in surrender.

She entered slowly, setting her supplies down on a battered box beside where Bran was sitting as he reached out his injured hands nonchalantly, watching Murphy with a look of malice down the barrel of the rifle.

Clarke tended to the cuts, making sure nothing was broken and wrapped everything up securely with the bandages, keeping on guard the whole time. "Where are our friends?" She asked again softly while she wrapped.

His eyes flicked to Bellamy, stoically seething at a bit of a distance from the door while keeping out of the line of fire, before answering, "I don't know where they are. Truly." As his gaze slid slowly up from her tending hands to her furrowed brow.

"That's not good enough." Clarke said keeping her voice low and back to the rest of the group, "You have people who are counting on you to come home. Why did you come here?" She asked straightening up thinking back to their early morning conversation, changing tactics.

His eyes darkened, lips thinning into a straight line as he thought, "My family is the reason I am here." He finally said raising his voice in frustration and emotional strain.

Clarke stopped at the look of fear and panic in his eyes at his words and opened her mouth to respond just at the ships intercom sounded. She heard Bellamy move to rapidly to silence the annoying buzzer and find out who was outside the ship.

Clarke looked apologetically at Bran, "Please don't undo all my hard work?" and she backed out of the room, shutting the door on any answer he might have said.

"It's Karson." Bellamy said looking at the video display at the tall mans form and moved to lower the ramp.

Karson stormed onto the ship with a sense of determination, "Where is he?" He demanded as he got to the top of the ramp scowling furiously at Clarke and Bellamy.

"Whoa, Karson. What exactly is your goal here?" Clarke said putting herself between Karon's mass and Bellamy. She could feel his immediate anger at her radiating to her back, but she knew he couldn't take a fight yet, especially with someone like Karson.

Karson blinked at her small frame blocking his way, "I want to talk to him." He answered, voice low and growling just as Echo came around the corner of the hall.

Echo took one look at the scene and jumped to Karson's side before she even realized she was doing it, "Karson, what's going on?" She asked shooting a look to Clarke that could have literally killed.

"I just want to talk to him." Karson repeated, voice losing some of its harshness, realizing Echo was at his side, a part of him pleased by her defence.

Clarke mind briefly wondered at the dynamics between the two before she turned and looked at Bellamy for a unified answer . He nodded slowly and Clarke turned back, moving out of the way as she did, "Talk…..only." She said firmly while Echo glared at her as they passed.

They all walked to the cargo hold and Clarke nodded to Murphy to open the door, while keeping his weapon trained. The door opened slowly revealing Bran sitting on the crate at the back of the small room just as Clarke left him. He lifted his head eyes scanning the group until they fell on Karson and his face registered total and utter shock.

"You're alive?!" He stammered, standing and taking a step forward before stopping as the Murphy shifted his gun and Echo raised her sword.

"No thanks to you." Karson spat out, venom dripping from his words as he glared at the older man, stance ridged and taught with anger.

Bran's face fell and he sat back on the crate, tears filling his eye, "I though your death was on my hands." And he looked up at Karson, face reproachful.

Karon's fury ebbed for a moment as confusion washed over his features, "It almost was! You betrayed me! I was trying to stop what my father was doing to save lives." He said recounting the events.

Bran stood again, "I didn't know what he was planning, I swear! I was told that Council Alderist was a key member of the rebel T'Owvie faction and had been part of the planned bombing attack. I thought by telling your Father, that, I was protecting you." He said referring to events that only Karson and him had knowledge of as the rest of the group watched the exchange, heads turning back and forth between the two.

"Then I heard of how they were looking for you, and you had jumped off the falls. Lucian sat me down and said that he discovered you had betrayed us all, had turned as a spy, and he had undervalued me. Right then, it was too late, I just didn't realize it." He said desperation coloring his voice as he pleaded to Karson.

"And here you are. Good little soldier for him." Karson replied snarling at Bran and turned his back in frustration.

"I had no choice. They took Lise." Bran cried, breaking down finally eyes brimming with tears to everyone's shock and Karson's mouth opened in surprise.

He stepped forward as every one seemed to slowly move away to give the men a little more privacy since it seemed the initial threat had passed. Echo still moved by Karson's side, tight grip on her sword ready for any threat while Karson's anger seemed to deflate at the sight of the man crying and his words.

"Why would they take Lise, Bran?" He said softly, coming to a stop in the door frame, effectively blocking Echo from being able to advance if she needed and he tossed a look at her frustrated expression as if to tell he it was okay, then focused back on Bran who had gotten control of himself.

"You have to understand, we didn't know when we met or were married." He started quietly, "We tried for the full first year to start our family, but nothing ever seemed to work. But then Lise's mother and father sat us down and told her. They didn't have a, so called, pure blood line and they had hoped there wouldn't be issues, but it appeared otherwise. They, themselves, had arranged help from a very discrete T'Owvie to have Lise and, with some time, they put us in contact with that person."

Karson connected the rest of the dots on his own and just breathed out, "Oh, Bran." His tone full of remorse and understanding.

"I don't know how your Father found out, but he's threatening my children Karson. They are my kids." He finished quietly, hanging his head.

Karson realized how long it had been since he had been gone. In six years, the man who had been like an older brother to him, had had a family, and was now on the brink of losing them. "Why were you following our scout? Did Father send you?" He asked concerned.

"No. I managed to get away. My kids are safe, for now, because they have gone into hiding with my in-laws. I came looking for refuge for them." He said, fidgeting with the bandage on his hands. He looked up at Karson, "I want it for them. I don't deserve to have a place with them after the things I have done."

Karson sighed and hung his head, the weight of his word heavy on his mind as he tried to cope with all the new information he was just given. Finally he raised his head in resolve and looked down at Echo, "He stays here, guarded." He started then addressed Bran as his head snapped up, "You will help us get their people back while I arrange for your family to be brought to Haven. Hopefully, we can get Lise out too at the same time."

He turned on his heal and strode away without looking at the hopeful man again. Echo just nodded and shut the door glancing at Murphy who finally lowered his gun, while Bellamy and Clarke were in deep conversation in a corner with Madi, but turned at the locking of the door.

"I need to talk to him." Bellamy said, referring to Karson and moved to follow before Echo held out her hand in warning as he went to go past her.

"No. I will talk to him. You, just stay here with everyone else." She said, her eyes flashing in challenge, as if she wanted a fight with Bellamy.

He knew better then to rise to her challenge, even as stressed as he was about finding Octavia and Indra as he was, and backed down, taking a step away from her and nodding his head for her to go after the other man. "You talk to him. I am going to talk to this guy and see what we can sort out."

Echo stalked off slightly disappointed that Bellamy didn't push things further. She felt wound up and was needing a really good fight, but let it go for the time being. She found Karson pacing by the ramp release, obviously upset over the information that he had received from Bran, and was rubbing his temples with one hand, looking at the deck plates as he paced.

"What's the plan Karson." She asked causing his pacing to come to a stop in front of her. This man had been welcoming, patient, and kind and she was starting to think of him as a friend and wanted to help fix things if she could.

He dropped his hand and looked as her with surprise and a relief, "I don't know. We need to get in to the Colony. That means we need to get together a small group that can do that while we keep up appearances with Bellamy and Clarke, that they are working towards a compromise with my Father."

Echo shook her head, "Bellamy won't sit by and not go after his sister, he's not wired that way." She said causing his brows to pinch together in frustration.

"For the sake of all our safeties, he will need to need to this time. We need to keep my Father looking outward and not expecting us to get in, if he doesn't, our chances to succeed will be much smaller." He said, frustration coloring his voice.

Echo looked at him doubtfully but nodded slowly, "Let's let them know. How long do you think they have?" She said turning back as Karson started back toward the cargo hold and he shook his head at her.

It took a couple of hours, but with Bran's help they were able to sort out a plan to get a group back into the Colony so they could start a search for Octavia and Indra, while Bran gave specific directions to his family with the routes that were less traveled and out of the eyes of Krass's supporters. Bellamy argued bitterly with the thought of not being a part of the group to find his sister and Indra, but finally relented after, Karson and Echo expressed the need for them to keep the guise of negotiating for the women's release.

It had been decided that Bellamy, Clarke, Madi and Shaw would set up a camp away from the edge of the shield so they could be in constant communication while keeping the location Haven safe. They packed up quickly, taking guns and provisions and left to set up within an hour leaving Murphy and the others specific instructions to keep the ship in lockdown.

Echo was going with Karson, Bran and a couple other scouts and was packing her bag when there was a knock on her door. She opened it to reveal Shaw, "Hey, I'm leaving in 5. Is something wrong?"

Shaw handed her a small radio, "I was able to rig this up from the T'Owvie's communications. It will allow you to talk with Bellamy and Clarke on a secure line, in case of an emergency." He said looking proud of himself, "try not to use it though, I can't be sure if they will be able to pick up the frequency."

Echo thanked him and packed up the last of her items to meet with the group as they were waiting for her at the Hub. It didn't take long for them to get the last of their personal shields and extra batteries and then head out and she quickly fell into step beside Karson, who's face had lost all humor for a dark scowl. They made their way down to the entrance of the tunnel system where Echo and Miller had first been held and struck up the torched before moving into the dark space.

Karson glanced back at Echo briefly, "You ready for a fight?" he asked softly, face concerned at what they were about to face.

Echo smiled a hard line at him, "I was made to fight." She replied quietly, and they moved into the ominous dark of the stone maze.

Avin had finally left Octavia alone in her windowless cell, and she was able to get some desperately needed sleep, but now was lost as to what time of day it must have been. She gingerly sat up, testing all the various aches and pains, noticing, thankfully, that her head seemed much improved with the bit of sleep.

She got up, stretching a little to get blood moving and started checking out her surroundings, trying to see if she could hear or see anything out of the small window in the door, then trying the knob out of sheer curiosity to confirm her assumption that it was locked.

After a few moments she her the tell tail click of shoes coming down the hall and she moved to sit back on the bed as fast as her stiff body would allow. The lock on the door clicked and two, armed men entered poised to defend themselves and Krass entered behind then, the room getting suddenly tiny with all the large bodies.

Octavia eyed all three men with a measure of calculation and they bristled tightening their grip on their weapons. "I would you suggest you advise your men not to touch me." Octavia said with a sneer, every muscle on the ready to take at least one of them out.

Krass just smiled at her, "Then I suggest you come with us without any trouble." And he exited the room with one of the men while the other gestured for her to follow.

She glared at him for a moment and got up as smoothly as she could as to keep what injuries she had a secret for the time being. Once out of the room she had a quick look at her surroundings. To her left was a solid brick wall and it was hard to see around the hulking mass of the two men, but it seemed the hall only stretched about 20 feet before coming to another solid looking door.

The walked at an even pace, the second guard now following close behind her, effectively sandwiching her, with little room to move. Once through the door at the end of the hall, they moved down another hall, exactly like the one they had been in. Every 15 feet or so there was a door like the one to her cell, but no windows in any of them, and the only sound she could hear was their feet on the stone floor.

One more turn and they stopped at another door, this time it had a window and Krass turned, indicating that she should have a look. Octavia hesitantly moved forward, looking through the thick glass to see Indra laying on a small cot, beaten and almost unrecognizable. Her hands flew to the door and she yanked viciously on the door knob. When it wouldn't open, she banged on the door trying to get a response from Indra and finally turned her wrath around to see Krass had stepped back and the guards ready. And she stood, stance slightly crouched like a cornered animal ready to strike and she glared at them.

"Let...me...in." She said, her voice low and menacing and she ran through her best option to take down the men, fulling knowing she wouldn't survive the effort.

"No." Krass said, deadly calm as he measured a look at her, "You will come with me and have a discussion as to why we should keep your friend alive."

Her jaw twitched as his words, her heart picking up its pace and she started to shake slightly with the effort of keeping herself calm. He gestured with his hand for her to follow and she gritted her teeth, turning with them to go further down the hall.

They ushered her into an office, that she could have only assumed was Krass's and she took notice of the screens on the wall showing various rooms, including the one that Indra was in. He walked around the large ornate desk and sat back in the chair setting his hands on his desk, fingers clasp.

"What do you want." She finally said barely able to keep her voice level as her eyes kept flicking to the screen on her left.

"You are quite a woman from what I gather from my men." He started, eyeing her as if she were a specimen before him.

Octavia bristled at the way his eyes raked over her, "What do you want." She repeated letting her gaze drift a little to see if she could find a weapon to beat the smug look off his face.

"I am in a bit of a unique position." He started slowly, leaning back in his chair as if he had no care in the world. "I'm not sure what lies that fossilitic crone has told you, but we could use a woman of your, ah, shall we say, specific attributes, here in the Colony." He explained carefully assessing her.

"And if I'm not interested in being a part of your plan for a pure society? What then?" She asked through clenched teeth.

"Well, your friend there," he said gesturing to the screen at Indra, "Unfortunately, is passed her usefulness for our future plans." And he leaned forward with his elbow on his desk and locked his fingers together, leveling her with a malicious stare.

"And I am to assume that means you won't be letting her or me, for that matter, go?" Octavia replied, voice dripping with anger and she gripped the arms of her chair tightly to keep from jumping over the desk at him.

"Unless your friend Clarke and her partner Bellamy offers me something better, you will be my guest here." He said with a sick smile, adding, "And since that is the case, I am offering you the chance to ensure your friends safety."

"I will need to be allowed to see Indra before I agree to anything." She stated, grasping for ideas to stall for time, while a part of her praying that Bellamy and Clarke were on their way.

Krass took a moment and finally nodded to the guards hovering in the corner, "If it would make you more agreeable." He said as the guards approached, flanking her chair.

She stood slowly and was escorted back out and down the hall towards the room they had showed her previously. She contemplated taking out her guards and making a run for it, but she had no clue where she was and Indra was obviously not in any shape to be going anywhere. They brought her to the door, and one of them produced a set of keys, unlocking the door and allowing Octavia access before closing the door behind her and relocking it with a resounding click.

Octavia rushed across the room to the small cot where Indra had obviously been dumped by the people who dragged her in, and immediately checked to make sure the woman was still breathing. Thankfully, her breathing was coming in regular intervals without any concerning sounds, causing Octavia to breathe a sigh of relief. Looking around she grabbed the cup of water that was left by her bed, and tearing off a part of her already ripped cloak, she soaked it with the water and gently started to clean up some of the dried blood from her swollen face.

Indra moaned and her eyes fluttered, attempting to open even though they were both badly bruised and swollen, and Octavia hushed her, "Shhhhhh, Seda. I'm here." She said gently and wiped away some more blood as tears surprisingly threatened to fall before her anger built towards the person who did this to her.

Indra relaxed a little and her breathing fell back into a regular pattern as Octavia gently continued to clean up some of the dried blood. She took note of all Indra's injuries, and it stoked her already epic fury to the point her hands were shaking by the time she got the last of the blood wiped away from her face when the guards came back in to tell her that time was up.

Octavia leaned down near Indra's ear, "Rest easy. Blood will have blood." She whispered menacingly and saw the woman's head nod imperceptibly in response and she rose with new resolve to face the guards.


	24. Chapter 24

**I made a change to this chapter...I noticed a bit of a whole in my telling so I needed to fix that.**

 **So, not sure if I am losing readers, but it seems there isn't as much of a following. Let me know if this has to do with the story line. Again, life has made it hard to get out another chapter as soon as I wanted to, but for those still reading THANK YOU! I do have an end goal planned out and I am working up to some good stuff (and hopefully not to predictable). Thank you again to everyone still with me on this massive story, and please, PLEASE leave a review if you are still enjoying, or even if your interest has decreased. All opinions are appreciated!**

 **Disclaimer: I still own nothing, all rights to CW**

 **Chapter XXIV**

Bellamy was finishing setting up the tent and supplies as the humidity and heat seemed to close in like a physical weight, making him feel like the air was thick and choking. Sweat was pouring down his back as he leaned over to secure the final pegs on the tent. Archon had warned then that the storm season was approaching soon and the way she said it, and the heavy tent pegs she supplied, lead him to believe that it wouldn't be something he would want to experience long term in a tent.

He didn't even need to turn around to look as he heard steps approaching, muffled by the mossy ground cover. "Don't say it Clarke. I'm in no mood for a motivational speech." He said keeping his back turned to her as he secured the tie to the peg, ensuring it was tight as his ribs screamed at him with the effort.

Clarke sighed at his back as she waited for his anger to ebb and for him to turn around. She could see how he was guarding his movements while his sweat, soaked shirt clung to him like a second skin. He had hardly said a work to her as they made their way to the designated camp site and she knew he was working through his fear of Octavia being in Krass's hands. She sat on a mossy stump and watched his lean form finish up with the tent as she played with a stock of a plant that was growing beside her.

He eventually turned around slowly after feeling her eyes on him for the last few minutes, head hung, refusing to look her in the eye as if it were the last stand against her ability to make him see reason. Eventually, his head lifted and he looked her in the eye as he ran his hand through his hair, pulling the sweaty locks back, out of his face. She could see the fear he was trying to mask deep down, mixed with his struggle to not take it out on her for pushing him into making the camp instead of joining the party going to the Colony, and her heart ached for him.

"We need to give them the best chance possible. I need you with me on this," she said taking a step towards him and laying a hand on his arm.

Bellamy looked down at her fair, milky skin against his, a stark contrast to his darker, freckled tone and sighed. She was right. She was always right. And it was so frustrating. He stepped a little closer, looking up into her reassuring blue eyes and soaked up their comfort. With everything that had happened, they hadn't had a chance to talk about their interrupted night together and now, in the moment, it was nagging him from the back of his thoughts.

"Are we okay?" He asked in a low tone, taking a half step closer to her. She had this natural gravity it seemed and it always drew him in as he covered her hand on his arm with his other hand, the last of his anger slipped away.

Clarke tilted her head at his question, searching his deep brown eyes and feeling the heat off him as he stepped close to her. Her body hummed with his closeness, but she clamped the feelings down tightly. This wasn't the time or the place to get into the way he made her body feel just being this close to her and just smiled at the shift of concern in his voice, making her wonder where his thoughts were at.

"We are good, why?" She asked and watched the corners of his mouth turn down slightly, brows knitting together momentarily.

"Well, it's just," he started studying their now intertwined fingers and clearing his throat as he shifted, struggling to find the words to ask her how she felt about what had happened between them. "I, ah, just wanted to tell you that, um, well, last night, it was..." And he looked up, surprised, into her bright blue eyes as a soft chuckle escaped her lips.

"Are you laughing a me?!" He asked with a lopsided grin, trying not to be just a little bit hurt by her reaction.

Clarke found his fumbling over their night so endearingly cute that the contrast in his personality caused her to laugh. She smiled, suppressing the rest of her laughter and placed both hands on his sweat soaked chest.

"Oh, God, Bellamy, No. I'm not laughing at you." She grinned as he tilted his head in question with his eyebrow raised and a teasing grin playing on his lips. "It's just, sometimes you have such a soft side." She explained softening her tone a little as she felt his heart slamming against her hand.

Bellamy rolled his eyes at her response and lightly wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his hands in the space between her belt and back pockets. "That's me, all heart." He quipped back, voice lowering to a quiet rumble.

Clarke grinned up at him as they were now pressed together, regardless of the stifling heat, "As for last night," she said, lowering her voice as well, "It was perfect." And she pushed up on her tiptoes, and placed a soft kiss on his lips as he grinned.

"Ahhem." A voice said startling Clarke and she moved back from Bellamy to see Madi standing at the corner of the tent grinning at them both.

Bellamy smiled and ducked his head, planting a quick kiss on the top of Clarke's head before moving away. "What's up Madi?" he asked turning towards her, serious again despite her gleeful grin at them both.

"Shaw want's you. He has the radio system up and running." She said, nearly vibrating with excitement as her eyes bounced between Clarke and Bellamy.

Bellamy nodded and headed off to the tent they set up for the communications as Clarke narrowed her eyes at Madi and shook her head before heading off to follow Bellamy and Madi innocently said, "What?" and followed, still all grins.

Shaw had everything set up and was fine tuning some in instruments when they arrived. The temperature was a little more bearable in the tent but the humidity was still stifling. He looked up nodding, "All set, are we trying this now?" he asked flipping some switches.

"Get him on the radio Shaw." Bellamy stated, posture set and brow knit together as he sat in the chair in from of the radio and Clarke sat beside him, just as grim, while Madi paced behind them both, all humor gone.

The trip through the tunnels seemed to take forever and Echo was starting to feel progressively claustrophobic as more and more time passed. She had been staring at Karson's massive back for what seemed like the better part of the day. As the they walked, her mind started to wander on other things and she didn't realize when he stopped and she ran right into his massive form.

He glanced over his shoulder at her and she shot him an embarrassed apologetic look, "We are almost at the edge of the colony." He started to explain to her, and she realized that she was the only didn't know where they were as the others were already removing their packs and settling themselves in on the ground.

"And we are stopping why?" she asked getting antsy to get out of the tight space, shifting her pack off and plopping it down beside Karson's.

Karson grinned at her and settled down beside his pack, "It's late afternoon, and it will be easier to keep our presence hidden if we go in when it's dark." He said and offered her a piece of fruit.

She reluctantly took the fruit and slumped down beside him, glancing around as she did at the narrow rock walls that seemed to be getting closer and closer together. As she ate, she felt her pulse start to pick up a little and her hands began to shake a little.

Karson glanced over at her as she fidgeted and tried to breath, "Hey," he said quietly getting her attention, "Tell me about Earth." And he smiled at her trying to distract her from whatever seemed to be bothering her.

Echo closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, and started to tell him about her village and her grandmother. Slowly, the fact that they were in the close space seemed to melt away as she talked about old memories while they waited.

Octavia was brought back to Krass's office and directed to sit again across from him in the chair as he grinned at her. "I trust you are satisfied?" He asked with an air of superiority.

Octavia opened her mouth to respond but another guard rushed into the office cutting her off and making Krass's face turn beat red with frustration. "What?!" he roared at the young man. He rushed over, handing him a radio and whispering in his ear before rushing out again, tossing a quick glance in her direction.

"Well, it seems your leaders are wanting to talk to make arrangements for your release." He said, leaning back in his chair looking satisfied.

 _Oh God Bellamy, what are you doing_? Octavia thought to herself, keeping her face stoic in response to his scrutiny, as he got up and approached her chair.

"Let's see if we can make a bit of a deal, shall we? Why don't you wait here?" He said and patted her shoulder as he walked out, leaving her with the two guards.

She looked at the screens for a moment trying to figure out some sort of orientation to her location and noticed when Krass entered Indra's room with the radio raised to his mouth. He turned to the camera, as if he knew she was watching, and gave a wave.

"I want to know that my people are okay." Bellamy said sitting in front of the radio in the tent. The tension in the room was about as thick as the air outside and Bellamy was anxious to hear Octavia's voice.

"I just so happen to be with one now." Krass said, his voice slightly tinny and staticky over the radio speakers. "Would you like to say hello?" he said addressing Indra.

Octavia watched two guards approach Indra's form on the bed as Krass spoke on the radio to Bellamy or Clarke, she assumed, and her hands gripped the chair as she saw the guards move towards her in response.

The guards grabbed Indra, hauling her to her feet and she groaned in response, while Krass approached her line open, holding the radio towards Indra. Octavia watched Krass nod to the guards. One took her whole weight and the other struck Indra with enough force that her head snapped to the side, blood spraying across the floor.

Two hands slammed Octavia back down in her chair as she went to stand and she glared up at them, her whole frame shaking with rage. "You will be the first to pay." She spat at them quietly, eyes fixed on the screen and Indra's form slumped in the arms of the guard.

Madi whimpered at the sickening crunching sound that came across the speakers and covered her mouth as Clarke's eyes shot to Bellamy's as she saw the color drain from his face as his hand tightened around the radio in fury. They all knew what that sound was and either Indra or Octavia was being beaten, while there was nothing they could do but listen.

The line went quiet again and Bellamy responded immediately, "What do you think you are doing Krass?" he growled out with unveiled hostility coloring his tone.

Krass looked up again at the camera and smiled, sickly, responding to Bellamy, "I just wanted to impress on you my displeasure. After cutting short our parlay, because I told you were where in the middle of a civil war, you turned around and meet with the very faction I am at war with." He stated, leaving the line open as the guard hit Indra again, then let her slump to the ground.

Madi's look of horror turned to rage and Clarke snatched the radio out of Bellamy's hands as the line went silent again, "Stop it Krass! What do you want from us?" Clarke snapped.

Octavia watched Indra's form slump to the ground and she felt the hands tighten on her shoulders as her body fought against them. She wanted to rip their throats out and watch the life slowly leave their eyes, knowing they would never lay a hand on someone again.

Krass nodded to the guards and they walked out of Indra's room, "Now that I have your attention, let's have a frank discussion about what we can do for each other." He said as the door locked behind him.

Clarke ground her teeth together and glanced at Bellamy. She could see the muscle jumping in his jaw with tension as he slowly reached for the receiver. Clarke handed to him, "What is it that you think we can do for you Krass."

Krass walked back into his office and grinned as he saw his guards holding Octavia in her chair, "I think she knows where things stand. Take her back to her room." He said to the guards as he sat back down behinds his desk.

Octavia stood up, shaking the guards hands off her and stormed towards the door as he heard Krass's chuckle follow her out the door.

He shook his head with a smile and muttered, "That one will have great genetics." and turned back to the radio, "Alright Clarke, here's what I want." He started and begun the list of items that was on his desk.

Karson watched Echo for a few moments as she rested with her eyes closed, in the dim light of the small space. He had been taken with her as soon as he saw her at the gathering, and was crushed when she had been so distant after she found out the truth. She had a unique strength that seemed to draw him in, but she was incredibly guarded while being fiercely loyal to those who did make it into her inner circle.

"It's kind of creepy, you staring at me?" Echo said softly, a smile threatening to creep up at the corner of her mouth as she teased him. She couldn't help herself around him it seemed. He seemed to have an endless amount of patients for her and there was something about him not knowing anything about her past that she found appealing.

Karson started for a second as she peeked on eye open at him in his silence and then started to chuckle, "Sorry." He said sheepishly and looked away, thankful for the dim light as he could feel a very unmanly blush creeping its way across his cheeks.

"Please tell me it's time to get out of this hole?" She asked with only a small amount of anxiousness to her voice.

He stood stretching up, hands reaching all the way to the ceiling, "Yes. It should be well dark by now with minimal foot traffic if we are lucky. You guys ready?" He answered her and then checked in with the two other scouts before locking eyes with Bran at the back of the pack.

Everyone stretched and got their packs back on, pulling hoods up over their heads before they started off down the length of the tunnel.

Bellamy signed off the radio and looked at Clarke. She had a written list of Krass's demands scrawled out in front of her and was glowering at them. The sun had long set as they had argued points and his demands before he felt the need to demonstrate that he was in control of things by beating on the person again over the air waves. Bellamy had nearly lost all is control and resolve at that point and they took a quick break from things so he could calm down before they got back to what Krass only felt was fair for their betrayal and lies.

He had given them the night to 'think about things', and Clarke felt exhausted looking at the list. Shaw had typed up a data message with all the details to send to Raven and the others on the ship then left to check the camp as a heavy wind had picked up, while Madi had left the tent stating she needed to meditate and discuss things with the rest of the Commanders.

"Clarke, what are we going to do? We can't agree to this." He said, raking a shaky hand through his hair, pulling the sweaty locks away from his eyes, then covered his face with his hands and added, voice strained with emotion, "She could be laying beaten somewhere."

Clarke's heart shattered at his words and she hated the fact that they were hoping it was Indra that was being beaten and not Octavia. She reached out and slid an arm under his and back through the space between his bicep and forearm, hugging herself close to him.

"Karson and Echo should be in the Colony now." She said softly trying to ease some of his worries, "Hopefully they will be able to get to Octavia and Indra soon and we won't need to agree to anything."

Bellamy sighed deeply and leaned into Clarke for strength and support. He hated having to be on the waiting side of things and wondered briefly if this was how Clarke felt when he was in Mount Weather. He knew that he could rely on Echo and that she would do everything in her power to save Octavia and Indra even though they had never trusted each other because she was Bellamy's sister and Echo knew how much she meant to him.

His head was starting to throb again, and he knew he needed sleep, but didn't think he would be able to considering all he had just heard. He started to rub his temples, alleviating some of the throbbing behind his eyes and peeked over at the top of Clarke's head leaning on his arm.

She moved away a bit, turning so she could look at him and her eyes clouded with concern as she watched him rub his temples. "Come on." She said getting up and sliding her hand in his.

He relented and got up, body stiff from being in the chair for the whole evening and let Clarke lead him out of the communications tent over to the tent they had set up for sleeping. The wind had picked up even more since Shaw had left to check the equipment and the humidity hit them like a wall as soon as they left the tent. Clarke stopped briefly and looked up, the sky completely black as it was the first time they hadn't been able to see stars because of cloud cover, and before moving on, Clarke glanced quickly over at Bellamy with concern in her eyes.

When they got into the tent, Shaw was already fast asleep snoring softly on one of the cots, while Madi was sitting cross legged in the dim light on her cot, eyes closed and hands relaxed on her knees. Bellamy and Clarke had arranged their cots at the back of the tent beside each other with just a small amount of space between and Clarke immediately went to her bag and got out some medication, handing it to Bellamy.

"Take this before the headache gets too bad." She said with an authoritative tone as he opened his mouth to object.

Bellamy shut his mouth on his objection and just accepted the medication as his head really was throbbing, and now his ribs were starting to as well as he sat on the edge of his cot, exhausted. "What do we do Clarke? If we don't agree..." He started and hung his head, hair falling forward, obstructing Clarke's view of his pained expression.

"We need to give Echo and Karson a chance." Madi said opening her eyes and Bellamy lifted his head to look at her.

Her back was straight and she had the hard, mature look of the Commanders as she returned his challenging look. "I know you would rather be the one to be in the middle of the rescue, but that is not your place as leader." She said uncrossing her legs and stretching a little.

"Madi..." Clarke started, but Bellamy reached out, placing silencing hand on her leg as she looked at him sharply.

"No Clarke, it's okay." He said, voice betraying how tired he was, "You are right Madi, but I still don't like it."

Madi nodded, "Get some sleep. I will stay up and take watch in the communications tent." She said with a tone that discouraged any argument. "I will come get you if I hear something." she added standing and heading out the door.

Bellamy chuckled humorously, "That's some kid you got here Clarke." He said with a yawn.

Clarke laughed. "Wait till I tell you how we met." She said and grabbed the blanket from the foot of Bellamy's cot. "But she's right. You need sleep. You are still healing." She added with a softened tone as he groaned and laid down.

"Now _I_ get Momma Bear?" He teased, eyes already drooping with fatigue as he looked up at her, hair messy and curling around his eyes.

"Only when you are being stubborn." Clarke said and reached out, smoothing the hair out of his eyes as they closed, his face relaxing at her touch.

Clarke watched him for a few moments as his breathing evened out to a regular deep rhythm, his face looking much young as he slept, worry lines gone in the peace of sleep. She sighed and debated about getting some sleep herself, but decided to go and spend some time with Madi. They hadn't had much time since they got to Haven and she wanted a few moments with the girl.

Echo, Karson, the two scouts and Bran crept through the quiet streets, trying to blend in and stay to the shadows as best as they could. She had been surprised at how modern the Colony was in comparison to the rustic quality of Haven. There were actual stone buildings in the Colony rising up like smaller version of Polis used to before Praimfaya.

The streets were softly lit with artificial globes every 15 feet or so, creating pools on the road that they tried to avoid while being as inconspicuous as possible. After weaving their way through the narrow streets for almost a half hour they turned down a space between buildings and stopped. Karson pulled his hood down looking at the other four, then around to ensure there was no other foot traffic.

"End of this building." Bran said "There was a large bin. If we move it to the side, we will see the door that will lead to where my kids are hiding with their grandparents." He said quietly to the group and gestured to the end of the street, looking around nervously.

"You three," Karson said nodding at the scouts and Bran, "Go gather your family and take them to the meeting point. Echo and I will go to the Facility and see if we can gain access to get Octavia and Indra." Everyone nodded, "If we aren't back by dawn go to Haven." He ordered before pulling his hood back up.

He clasped the hands of each scout and wished them luck, and quickly enveloped bran in a hug before making his way with Echo back to the front of the building. He turned to her, face covered by the shadowing hood, "I still have a few ways to get into the Facility, but there will be no hiding there." He said, eyes full of worry and he hesitated for a moment.

Echo waited as he seemed to falter for a moment, doubt mixing with the concern in his eyes, "What is it?" she asked drawing back into the shadows a little further as footsteps echoed down the empty street from somewhere off in the distance.

He pulled his hood down for a moment again, "It's just, well, I wanted to say thank you." He said and he saw the confusion flash across her face. "I, just wanted to say that it meant a lot that you defended me at the drop ship. I know I haven't always been honest with you." he said hanging his head slightly with shame.

Echo regarded him with slight exasperation, "Karson, this isn't the time or the place for this." Then sighed at his slightly hurt expression. "It was the right thing to do." She whispered back softening her tone.

They both stiffened as footsteps echoed down the street getting progressively louder, nearing to where they were hidden in the shadows of the walkway. Karson flipped his hood up, casting a dark shadow over his face and flattened himself against the wall while pressing an arm back across Echo protectively. She stuffed down her immediate anger over his actions as the person passed by where they were, continuing on, oblivious to the two hiding in the darkness.

Slipping out from the walkway, they made their way quietly down the street in the direction of Krass's facility. The streets were quiet, making their steps seem overly loud as the moved, making Karson jumpy, his focus strained listening for any little noise or movement that was out of place.

They finally came to the corner of a smaller building that angled slightly towards the ground like a large triangle on its side without windows or multiple doors like the buildings around it, except for the front flat part the raised up almost three stories. There were large bay doors with a smaller door and key pad off to the side. There was a large flood light with a camera pointed down at the smaller door, making a bright spot light around it. Kason and Echo came to a stop across the deserted road, peering across the expanse like it was a mile and not only 30 feet away.

"How are we supposed to get in with that camera?" Echo whispered, leaning in towards his back as she stood behind him, every nerve tense.

Karson took a quick look around and then turned, sliding his pack off his back and pulling out a small, metallic square. He flipped it open, pressing buttons and Echo watched with curiosity. "I'm just finding the feed." He said as he concentrated and turned the square slightly towards her.

His face relaxed and he punched a few more buttons waiting, "I'm into their system and recording, I will loop it back and then we can go in the door." He said, waiting as they both leaned in, heads together watching the screen.

The air shifted between then and suddenly he noticed the warmth of her huddled in towards him, as she peered at the screen, watching the progress bar advance at the bottom. He could smell the light spice of her soap, mixing with some kind of floral scent, and he peeked at her from under his hood.

The box chirped quietly and snapped him back into the present, "All set." He said, pushing a couple buttons to ensure the recording was playing on repeat. Closing the box, ripped off a thin plastic sheet on the back and fixed it to the wall just above his head.

They moved quickly to the door and Karson took a breath before he punched in the code that Bran had given him, saying a silent prayer that it would work. There was a soft buzz and click, ant the lock flashed green as he let out the breath, he didn't realize he was holding.

Pausing a second, he looked at Echo, "You ready for this?" He asked, voice barely audible.

Echo's face was like stone and her gaze fixed on the door as she nodded her head sharply and he opened it, both of them slipping inside as the lock clicked back with a quiet buzz.


	25. Chapter 25

**Sorry it's taken so long again to post...such a busy time of year for me. I am moving into some fun parts of the story here so I hope you all like the direction I am going. THANK YOU again to those who have reviewed and provided me feed back! PLEASE keep it coming! It drives me to get those chapters out as fast as I can!**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own anything...all rights to CW**

 **Chapter XXV**

Octavia barley glanced at the guards as she stalked down the hall to where they had kept her and she just breathed, her fury narrowing her vision and sharpening her senses. If she was going to get out, now would be the time, and Indra didn't have much more of it left. As she rounded the corner ahead of her guards she spun and crouched, ready, aiming to disarm the first to gain a weapon.

Time slowed as they rounded the corner after her, not expecting her to be facing them, a feral snarl on her face as she struck out at the bigger of the two, his baton, clattering to the stone floor, the sound echoing down the hall briefly before she snatched it up and struck the smaller guard before he even had time to register her attack.

Time resumed as the guard's eyes rolled back in his head, blood spraying across the other guard, who as on his knees, and the wall beside him. The first guard had clued into the fight, just in time to raise a forearm to Octavia's next blow, the shock of it against the baton vibrating up her arm, causing instant pain to the point that she almost dropped it.

She spun back with lightning speed in the small hallway, using her size as an advantage to hit him with a crushing blow to the ribs, causing a sickening crunch as he double over, air escaping his lungs in a whoosh and he reflexively clutched his midsection with both hands. This gave her the opportunity in a fluid movement to swing upwards, connecting the baton with his jaw and face with a bone-jarring force that snapped his head back, and spun his body slightly before he crumpled slightly on top of his partner, a pool of blood rapidly forming on the floor beneath them.

Octavia panted for a brief moment, and could feel the warm slick blood slowly dripping down her cheek and forehead, from when his head snapped up with her last blow. She scowled down at their lifeless forms and spat on them, "Jus drein jus draun." She growled, repeating the grounder phrase, blood will have blood.

She reached down and searched the bodies, finding knives on both of them as well as their keys. She prayed to the Gods she would find the right key quickly as she stepped around their bodies, and headed towards Indra's room. She knew she would have to move fast, as Krass would see the moment she entered the room as long as he was still in the office and her blood was pounding in her ears as she rounded the final corner to where Indra's room was and stopped dead in her tracks, raising her knives in a defensive stance towards the two hooded figures halfway down the hall.

Octavia was just about to rush them when Echo pulled off her hood stepping around the Karson, holding up her hands, "Octavia, wait!" She hissed, stalling the other woman's actions.

"Echo." Octavia said regarding her and Karson as she lowered her knives, "Indra's in the room just behind you." She said rushing forward and pulling out the keys.

Karson regarded her with slight shock, bruised, and battered, knife in each hand, with blood sprayed across the one side of her face, and a frightening fury etching in familiar lines. He backed off as he shot Echo a look and noticed how calm she took in the scene. He made a mental note to ask her a little more of the history if they got out of there in one piece.

Octavia struggled with the keys, trying to find the right one to open the door, "There's a camera in there that show's in Krass's office. We won't have much time once if get us in there." She said as she tried key after key.

"I got that." Karson replied, snapping into action and produced another small square box, and opened it. "Just hold for a couple minutes." He whispered urgently as he hey a click in the lock and Octavia voicing her success.

Karson could feel her anxiety and impatience as he tapped into the video feed and copied a loop before feeding it back to the system. He could feel the sweat trickling down his back and dotting his forehead as he stared at the screen, willing it to load faster. There was a muted chirp and he removed the plastic, sticking the closed box above the frame of the door before nodding to Octavia she was clear to open it up.

Octavia rushed in, Karson behind her while Echo kept guard at the door, holding it ajar for them to exit quickly. "Seda?" Octavia whispered as she came to rest on her knees beside Indra's still form. Octavia's heart pounded as she waiting, fearful of the woman's lack of movement.

The moment stretched out and Octavia's face crumpled just before Indra softly moaned, and attempted to open her badly swollen eyes. Relief flooded through Octavia like a tidal wave and tears stung her eyes as she turned to Karson, "Can you carry her?" She asked, eyes pleading with the man.

He nodded curtly and stepped beside the cot, whispering an apology as he hefted Indra up with barely an effort, causing her to left out a muffled groan and Octavia was on her feet gesturing him to stay between her and Echo.

"You know the way out?" Octavia asked in a low tone, dwarfed by Karson's bulk in front of her as he cradled Indra protectively in his arms.

"Yes, just follow us." Echo said a little louder, so that her voice carried back to the other woman.

They all moved quickly through the maze of halls that ended at a set of double doors that brought them into a large garage bay with double bay doors at the far end, various storage crates, and supply shelves in between them and thier escape as alarms suddenly sounded.

"Shit!" Echo swore as they burst through the doors, making a break for the main door as voices could be heard very close yelling in the hall.

Octavia glanced over her shoulder as she ran around the side of a crate to see a half dozen of Krass's men burst through the doors, yelling at them to stop and firing some kind of energy weapon at them. A bolt of light skimmed passed Octavia, causing the hairs to raise with the electricity and she watched it hit Karson in the shoulder.

Karson let out a howl of pain as he collapsed, twisting awkwardly with Indra in his arms as to now land on her, his whole shoulder burning instantly with a blinding pain. Indra let out a grunt as she hit the stone floor, rolling in a tangle of arms and legs before coming to an abrupt stop against a large crate with a shuddering thud, while Karson skidded to on his one arm a few feet away from her. His whole left side felt as if it were on fire and he closed his eyes as the pain consumed everything.

Echo froze and tuned at Karson's pain filled yell and watched him fall, twisting to toss Indra away from his massive weight as he did. She skidded to a stop as Octavia reached where they both landed, as the guards continued forward, closing the space distance rapidly as they fired shots.

"Up! Get up, Karson!" Echo screamed as Octavia shoved a crate over to provide them with a little coverage, before kneeling beside Indra.

Karson struggled to his knees, pain lacing through his arm as it hung useless at his side and he took in the scene around him. Octavia, struggling to get Indra up, pleading with the woman to stand as she attempted to open her swollen eyes while she mouthed, the word run. Echo, sheltering behind a crate near their exit, screaming his name, driving him to stand completely and block out the pain, while white bolts flashed and popped around them all as the guards inched forward thinking they had the group pinned down.

In between the gun fire, and the yelling, a voice rang out through the expanse of the huge bay, "I said RUN damn it!" Causing everyone to turn and look in Indra's direction. She shoved Octavia away as she lay crumpled on the floor barely able to open her one eye, screaming the words as Octavia shook her head vehemently, tears threatening to fall, face full of anguish.

In a split second the firing stopped and Karson grabbed Octavia with his good arm, as Echo pulled open the door, yelling for them to follow as they were only a short distance away. Octavia thrashed in his vice grip as he used all his strength to half carry, half drag her the final few feet and out the door as Indra's voice followed them out into the night air with a final "GO!". Karson slammed the door as shots renewed and thudded against the solid metal door and they rushed across the street into the small dark walkway, continuing on into the black night.

They moved through the streets, staying in the shadows and side paths, constantly on the move, only pausing briefly to hide from Krass's patrols. Octavia followed in a blind daze between Echo and Karson, not knowing or caring about where they were headed, completely non-responsive to their comments about their progress. She felt numb, the image of Indra yelling at her and feebly shoving her away replaying over and over in her head.

Before she realized it, they were ducking into a dark, stone tunnel, their progress sounding deafening in the narrow, enclosed space. Karson was panting behind her, breathing labored as he struggled along fighting with the pain. They slowed their frantic pace as voices echoed from ahead of them as the floor started to slope down a little.

They neared another group and stopped, Bran looking over everyone with relief until he spotted Karson. Echo took the opportunity to turned, quickly eyeing Octavia as she stared stoically at the wall and move towards Karson who had slumped down against the wall, cradling his hurt arm, face pale and covered with sweat.

"Can you make it back to Haven?" Echo asked quietly, pulling back at the collar of his shirt to try to have a look at the back of shoulder before noticing a small pool of blood gathering against the wall on the floor beside him. Bran had rushed over and was kneeling beside her, holding Karson up as he threatened to slump fully over to the floor.

Karson's vision spun for a moment and he blinked a couple times, breathing heavily as his vision tunnelled and Echo's face dimmed as it hovered in front of him. He tried to nod, his body feeling sluggish and attempted to pull his feet under himself to stand, just to find something holding him down. He felt drunk, the world a blur as he tried to push up against whatever was holding him down until a voice cut through the fog.

"Karson, stop!" Echo demanded as she held him in place realizing asking him to walk had been a mistake. If he fell from a standing position, there would be nothing she could do to cushion his fall even with Bran helping, at least on the ground she could try to treat his wound and possibly stop the bleeding.

He obediently stopped moving, his head lolling back against the stone wall then to Bran's shoulder as he glanced up at Echo, face full of worry. Karson's breathing was coming in short panting bursts as Echo called over one of the scouts to help her and Bran. They got his shirt open and exposed the bloody mess of his back from where the blast hit him and Echo's face shifted to resolve as she looked up at the scared family looking over the whole scene.

She turned to look Bran in the eye as he knelt beside her, "Take your family and Octavia back to Haven. I will stay here with Karson and you send back help so we can get him to camp. He can't walk that far like this." she said firmly. Bran hesitated a moment as her words, looking down at his friend then back at the scared faces of his children. He looked aback at Echo and nodded, standing and ushering his family in the opposite direction with the scouts in the lead.

Octavia stood leaning against the wall, in a daze as she heard the conversation, but didn't really listen to what was happening around her until she heard her name, "Octavia." Echo said repeating her name for the fourth time.

Octavia snapped her head up, finally aware of everyone looking at her, "Sorry." She said quietly as Echo regarded her with frustration.

"You need to go. Head back to Haven and get us help. Bellamy needs to know you are safe." She said repeating the plan again in exasperation as Karson moaned, eyes fluttering. Octavia nodded that she heard and turned, tossing one last glance at the pair on the ground then moved off quickly to get help for Karson, following the group ahead of her before they got to far.

Clarke leaned back in a chair with Madi, holding hot cups of the spicy drink she liked, a comfortable silence stretching out between them. "Do you think Karson and Echo were able to get in?" Madi asked, the question softly with the tiny thread of hope in her voice.

Clarke looked over at the girl as she stared in her cup, "Echo is very good. I am sure they have gotten in." She said smiling tightly.

The radio crackled to life, Krass's voice angrily coming across the waves loud and clear, "What the _HELL_ are you two playing at?!" He bellowed and both Clarke and Madi jumped in their chairs, sloshing thier drinks and looking at each other startled.

Clarke picked up the receiver tentatively, glancing at Madi who immediately hopped up and took off to get Bellamy up. Obviously, Karson and Echo had made it in to the compound, but now was the question as to if they were able to get out and with everyone.

"Krass. What's going on?" Clarke asked, clicking the mike on air and hoping Bellamy and Madi wouldn't be too long in getting there.

"Don't play coy with me Clarke. I consider your actions an action of war." His voice said menacingly across the staticky air waves.

Clarke's anger spiked at his words as well as her guilt for dragging her group into another war when they were trying to do better this time. At this point there was no escaping their actions and it was time for action, so she took a breath and clicked the receiver, "The act of war happened when you took my people, Krass." She stated letting her voice edge with the tone of Wanheda authority.

The line stayed silent for a long moment and Clarke waited nervously as Bellamy and Madi came rushing in, Bellamy and Shaw looking rumpled and still half asleep, and Bellamy's hair wild. "Did they get out?" He asked urgently, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"He hasn't said. Something obviously happened though." Clarke responded feeling more worried as time passed without response.

The line crackled open again, "Your little mission wasn't quite successful." He said, and Bellamy's heart dropped at his words as he shared a panicked look with Clarke, "I expect to have an open line of communications again in 4 hours. And Clarke, if you want to prevent all-out war, I expect you will be ready to meet my new demands." Krass stated, voice like steel and the line went dead.

"DAMN IT!" Clarke said throwing down the receiver angrily causing the mesh on the mike part to dent with the force and Madi to jump at her action. "Madi, you and Shaw need to go to Haven. Krass said something about it not being quite successful. That means someone got out." Clarke said turning to Madi, fury full on her face.

Madi nodded and grabbed her pack that she had brought into the tent earlier in the night, "We will be back as soon as we can with news." She said over her shoulder to both Clarke and Bellamy as she exited the tent with Shaw.

Bellamy was leaning forward with his hands gripping the table, knuckles white and face covered with his unruly curls as Clarke turned to look at him. "I shut her out Clarke. I shut her out and now I could lose her." He said softly with a tone of self-loathing.

Clarke sighed, recognizing this path her was going down, as he had times before on the roller coaster relationship he had with his sister. "We don't know anything yet Bellamy." She responded placing a gentle hand of support on his shoulder.

He stood, raking a hand through his hair, pulling back his messy locks, "I know." He said as a sigh and spontaneously wrapped his arms around Clarke in a hug, needing her strength in the moment as they waited for word. She felt warm against him as he had broken out in a cold sweat as soon as Madi had showed up in the tent, telling him there was news from Krass, her arms wrapped around his waist with a gentle pressure.

He took a deep, calming breath and turned his head to the side, burying his face in her silky, blonde curls, breathing in the scent of her shampoo and taking comfort in it. Her head, tucked beside his, chin resting on his shoulder as she stood on her tiptoes to do so. Her breathing was steady, and he felt her shift, turning her face into the side of his neck, breath tickling his skin as she did.

"It's going to be okay." She said into his neck, causing goose bumps to work their way down his spine and arms in response and he moved back slightly, sliding a hand up the back of her neck and into her hair as he did.

Clarke locked eyes with him, staring deep into the brown pools that looked almost black in his worry and stress as he leaned his head down to gently rest his forehead on hers. She watched his eyes flutter shut, long lashes resting on freckled cheeks, and her gaze naturally drifted to his mouth, lips slightly parted as his breath softly slid across her skin.

She couldn't help but wonder if they were ever going to find a moment of peace in thier lives, or if they even deserved to find that after all this time, and everything they had done since landing with the original 100 on Earth. Without thinking she closed her eyes, and lifted up slightly on her tiptoes, lifting her chin slightly, brushing her lips across his gently.

The tenderness of her kiss gripped Bellamy right to the core and he let the emotion overtake him momentarily, slanting his head to capture her mouth fully. He knew she had meant the kiss to be one of gentle support and reassurance, but he couldn't help the desire it raised in him and he allowing himself a moment of distraction and tightened his arms, hand gripping her hair and their breath mingled.

Clarke was dizzy with the intensity of his response to her kiss and it took all her strength to break away and move back, her body on fire and breathing coming in a short panting staccato before she took a deep breath to steady herself in his arms.

Bellamy felt her withdraw and he kept his eyes closed, knowing that he was letting his raw emotions get the best of him in the moment and this wasn't the time or place to give into his desire and he loosened his grip on her, but kept her close enough to feel her warmth.

Octavia and the rest of the group came out of the dark maze, all blinking in the light of Haven, taking it in as they moved quickly to the hub, Bran yelling for help to get attention. Archon appeared at the door of the Hub in response to Brans shouts.

"Karson," Bran said, tone laced with concern. "He's in the tunnels with Echo. He's hurt badly and they will need help to get him back here." He said rapidly, panting as he spoke from the dash across Haven to the Hub.

Archon nodded and turned, giving quick orders to those in the Hub and turning back to Octavia. "Come child." And she moved off down a side path, just as Madi and Shaw rounded the corner of one of the buildings.

Madi's face broke out into a sad smile and she rushed past Shaw and slammed into Octavia who stood still in shock and the girls hug. "It was Indra." Madi stated sorrowfully, voice muffled in Octavia's shoulder, then asked, "Where is she?"

She gently pushed Madi away, looking into her hopeful face as she tried to peer around her with a pained expression, "Krass still has her." She said softly as Madi's face crumpled, then added, "Where's Bellamy?" With a sense of urgency.

Madi's eye's filled with tears as Shaw hovered near the pair, "Come on, we will take you to them." He said voice low, as he watched the scene.

Madi, straightened her shoulders, stuffing down the emotions and turned on her heal with Octavia at her side and headed back to the camp as A group gathered with a large wheeled cart to go get Karson and Echo from the tunnels.

It didn't take long for then to make it to the camp, but progress was significantly slowed as the wind had picked up substantially and the rain was starting. They rushed as best as they could into the communications tent where Madi and Shaw had left Bellamy and Clarke. The humidity seemed to have reached a tipping point as the rain started to fall, soaking the trio in the short span it took for them to exit Haven and make it to the camp.

As soon as they cleared the doors of the tent, Bellamy crossed the space with relief flooding his face and enveloped her in a crushingly fierce hug. Octavia hesitated, slightly startled since he had been so cold, then recovered, wrapping her arms around her brother, letting him hold her up.

"Where's Indra." Clarke asked and immediately knew the answer as she saw Madi's face fall and shake her head.

Octavia move away from Bellamy reluctantly and turned towards Clarke, "Krass has her. He beat her, Clarke." She said with a fierce anger lacing her voice.

"We heard it." Clarke responded quietly with a grim look and them moved over to the Blake siblings, "He told us to be at the radio in 2 hours." She added grabbing a ration pack and some water and handing it to Octavia who accepted it with a grateful nod of thanks.

"We didn't know who it was." Bellamy said gruffly, his voice cracking with emotion on the words, and then moved over to sit on the stool in front of the radio, looking over briefly at Clarke before asking, "Did Echo make it out?"

Clarke fought against the small rush of hurt that tried to rise in her as she looked over to Octavia, who looked up from her eating at the pair, "She did, as well as Bran's family, but she had to stay in the tunnel maze because Karson was hurt bad and couldn't make it any further. They are sending a group to go help them." She explained between bites of her food.

Bellamy nodded slightly guilty at the relief he felt knowing she was okay. He turned, glancing at Clarke and felt even worse as he saw the hurt in her eyes until she came over saying, "It's good she's okay." As he watched the hurt disappear.

"When can we go back for Indra?" Octavia said, looking Bellamy straight in the eye, challenging him to answer him.

Bellamy stood his ground, face clouding as he knew this wasn't a fair fight. With Karson injured and their inability to have the element of surprise, there was no way to get back in to rescue Indra without it basically being a suicide mission. Luckily Clarke took the brunt of her challenge by stepping around Bellamy to give her an answer.

"You know that's not a fight we could win, Octavia." She said with her usual blunt authority, as she stood up to her whole height, staring Octavia down.

Octavia's eyes shifted from Bellamy to Clarke and narrowed as the anger simmered up, threatening to explode, "So what do you suggest, _Wanheda_?" She asked through grit teeth, calling Clarke by her grounder name, mockingly.

Clarke stepped forward, ready to challenge Octavia, the tension of the day and situation wearing on her last nerve, but Madi stepped between the two, stalling any further argument, "Unfortunately we have to wait for a response from Krass. It's not ideal, but we may be able to negotiate a better position to have Indra released." Madi said, her voice edged with the Commanders tone, making her words have a sense of finality to them.

Octavia let her gaze drift from Clarke's finally to rest on Madi between them as the tension seemed to deflate in the room like a balloon. Octavia's shoulders dropping with resignation at Madi's words. She just nodded and turned on her heal, "I need some air." She stated and strode out of the tent into the blustering storm outside.

Bellamy moved to go after his sister, but was stilled by Madi's hand on his chest lightly, "Leave her be for now. She knows we can't go after Indra just yet, and what that might mean." And her head dipped as the weight of the unknown rested on her.

Clarke looked at Bellamy sadly as she realized the implication of Madi's words and how angry Krass was when he radioed, "Now we wait." She said quietly in response as Bellamy draped an arm over her shoulders.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey all. I just want to start by saying Happy New Year, and sorry it has been so long since I updated. Between holidays and sickness running rampant in my house I haven't been able to do any writing. This chapter was exceedingly tough for me and I have had to go back and reread what I have written to get back into the swing of the story even though I have an outline of where it's going. Please comment! Let me know how you feel it's going! The support helps me keep going. To those who faithfully comment, Thank you! Much love! Hope you enjoy and I promise it won't be so long for the next chapter!**

Chapter XXVI

"Agreed. We will see you there Krass." Bellamy said as he let go of the receiver and looked at the group. He had a sick feeling in his stomach that there was no good way out of this mess and their luck could have finally run out.

They had waited by the radio at the appointed time and when Krass came across the air, his voice carried a tone of sinister calm that didn't sit well with anyone, especially Octavia. He had laid out the details of a meeting to which he demanded they attend at the same glade they had met the first time. They were to bring the ship, Octavia, Madi, Clarke and Bellamy with no other interference from Haven or the T'Owvie. If they did so, and stayed for a meeting to which terms would be outlined, Krass agreed to release Indra.

Octavia was pacing with a fury that matched the storm brewing outside, and held a posture all to reminiscent of the not so distant memory of Bloodrena. "I don't trust the bastard! He will never let any of us leave that glade." She said nearly spitting the words as she turned to yet again pace the length of the tent.

Shaw was receiving a data package from Raven as he compiled another one to send back about the planned meeting and looked up briefly at the rest of the group. "I agree with Octavia. So, we need a plan, leverage, something that makes the cost of killing or capturing us to high." He outlined, referring to his past dealings with Dyoza.

Clarke had grabbed paper and a pencil as soon as Bellamy had signed off the radio and had started sketching, Bellamy watched as her brow furrowed causing a crease between her eyes as she concentrated on what she was doing.

After a few moments she stood up and set the paper on the table, a rough sketch and layout of the glade outlined in beautiful precision and looked up at Bellamy. "This is the glade, Octavia..." She said, causing her to cease her pacing and turn to face them, "You scouted the perimeter, what can we expect? Is there any way we can plan a defensive strategy?" She added gesturing her hand in a circle around the drawing.

Octavia eyed the drawing carefully and slowly walked over, "We can't get there in time to fortify any kind of defensive position. They knew we were there before we saw them the first time, so I would expect the same this time, and there's not much cover once we are there." She said, shoulders finally dropping in resignation.

"Even if we could great a plan, we don't have enough people to do it, and not enough time to prep. He planned this well, knowing we would agree to get Indra back." Madi said, frowning intensely with a distant look in her eyes as she conversed with the rest of the Commanders.

Bellamy looked up to Clarke, eyes moving over to the group, "There's got to be something?" He growled in frustration as he stared at the paper, willing an answer to miraculously appear. "I'm not going to lose anyone else." He added quietly under his breath.

Shaw had a headset on and was listening intently to Ravens message, "Guys," he said, head snapping up to look at the group, "You need to hear this!" He said and unplugged the head set so it played through the speakers.

Ravens voice filled the room, "We are almost there. Jordan and Emori are finishing the last modifications to the shielding, but we just need you to buy some time. Then, you will have weaponized back up from the air."

Shaw paused the playback on the recording realizing they weren't getting the whole picture, "They found it in the cargo hold. Jordan had totally forgotten about it until shortly after we all left, then it took him a while to find where his dad had put the main body unit and the rest of the components."

Clarke shook her head still confused, "Forgot about what, Shaw?" She asked with frustration edging her tone.

"A jump ship." Shaw said, letting the news hit the group.

"A jump ship?! And he just remembered this now?" Octavia swore under her breath as her pacing began again as she swore under her breath.

"They said Raven has modified some of the drill guns to mount on the ship so we can fire from the air." He added with a grin.

Clarke set her pencil down forcefully, "Less than a year." She said quietly, then looked up at the group as they all turned to look at her, "Less than one _fucking_ year and we are right back where we were on Earth." And she watched Bellamy hang his head in acknowledgment of her words.

"We said we would do better. _Be better_. How is this any better than we were?!" She said swiping the pad of paper and pencil off the desk in her frustration.

"What are we supposed to do Clarke?" Octavia's fire lit in her eyes as she challenged her words, "Would you see us be used as some kind of pawns for the extinction of those who have sheltered us? Or sacrifice one of your own in the name of being _better_? Why don't you just radio Krass and offer us all up for whatever he has planned!" She said nearly spitting the last of her words in thinly vailed fury.

"O." Bellamy warned, ready to get between the two women as they faced off, eyeing Madi as she shook her head at him causing him to back of a little.

Clarke took no notice, focusing all of her frustration on Octavia, "So what would you have me do _Bloodrena_? Go in guns ready, and take down anyone or anything in our path?! Drop a hethalodium bomb on The Colony and watch it burn with the planet?!" Clarke challenged, voice raising in anger.

"It's a better idea than sitting here watching you play with the lives around you like they are some kind of game pieces on a chess board and you are the Queen. That sadistic maniac deserves to be blown off this planet!" She hissed stepping forward, hand on her knife handle.

Clarke's eyes flicked down at Octavia's hand on her knife and took a deep breath. She suddenly seemed to realize how fast things had escalated between them, and she paused before she continued, "This isn't a game to me Octavia. I am not about to leave Indra with Krass. I just don't know how to do that without putting us in the middle of a full out war." She said, voice lowering as she slumped back in her chair resigned, cradling her head in her hands.

Octavia took a few moments, blinded by her fury and blinked, finally registering Clarke had backed down. "We were in the middle the minute we answered Krass's radio calls. We have no choice but to go to the meeting and try to buy time for whatever Raven was talking about." She stated as the tension seemed to suddenly dissipate in the room even though her voice was sharp with anger.

Madi stepped forward, finally between them as Bellamy continued to sit on the edge of his chair, eyes watching his sister and Clarke carefully, hands gripping the arms of the chair. He was silently thankful that he didn't have to, yet again, pick sides between his sister and Clarke.

"We need to find out how long it would take to get this new jump ship down here." Madi started, voice firm and resolved with a plan, "If we can meet them with that ship, guns hidden as a last resort, then we have some options."

Shaw stepped forward from the corner he had backed into watching the argument unfold. "I will send a coded message right away to Raven and tell them we need it ASAP." he said to no one in particular and sat down at his desk.

"Tell her Emori should pilot. We need Raven on Eligis still for the time being as a back-up to protect our people there." Bellamy said, posture still showing just how on edge he was.

Clarke stood abruptly and left the tent, touching Madi on the shoulder briefly as she went by while giving Octavia a wide birth. Bellamy's gaze followed her as she left, face full of concern until his eyes swept back and met Octavia's.

She held his look for a moment, "Still the brave knight." She said softly, eyes filled with disappointment and then shook her head, turning away from him as Madi stepped forward.

"Go make sure she is okay?" She said quietly to Bellamy, pulling his hurt gaze away from his sister's turned back.

He rose, and nodded at Madi, slipping out into the blustering dawn. The storm seemed to have eased off for the time being, and the sky had cleared, but the wind still whipped around with an ominous strength, making the surrounding foliage seem to take on an angry life of its own. He made his way to the sleeping tent, stopping briefly to look up to the clearing sky using the moment to gather his thoughts.

Clarke was sitting on the cot he had slept in for a bit of the night, her head cradled in her hands, elbows on her knees, with her face covered by her blonde locks that were now edging past her shoulders and he stopped in his tracks and just watched her for a moment. It seemed like a life time ago now since they had their night together, and even after everything he still marvelled at the fact that she had survived Priamfya and was back in his life in such a profound way.

"There's nothing that you can say that will make this better Bellamy." Clarke said, voice slightly muffled by her hands.

He sighed and walked over to the cot, sitting closely beside her as she lifted her head, her sorrowful blue eyes hitting him like a tonne of bricks. "I know." He responded softly, feeling her warmth where their legs met. He opened his mouth to say something as she turned her face away to look at her hands again, then thought better of trying to comfort her and closed it again.

He tentatively stretched out his arm and wrapped it around her back, tucking his hand in by her hip, feeling her momentarily resist the contact, but then quickly recover, and lean into his strength and support with a small sigh that made the corner of his mouth twitch into a grin. He tilted his head slightly so his mouth was in her silky hair curls and breathed in her scent for a moment as they sat in silence.

"Can we negotiate a peace between Krass and the T'Owvie?" Clarke asked quietly against his shoulder as she silently reveled in the steady beat of his heart in her ear. She knew the answer before she even voiced the question, but she's needed to hear his words.

Bellamy sighed, shaking his head as it still rested against hers, "I don't see how we can. Krass wants the genocide of a complete race. I don't see how we can walk away from this and live with ourselves in the end."

Clarke moved to respond his words, but he cut any response she had off, "I don't think Monty would have wanted us to sit back and watch these people be extinguished by a tyrant. We have to defend ourselves, but we can't just start dropping bombs." And he felt her relax against him again. They had been at these crossroads before, discussing strategy and plans to have their people survive what they were facing, always together, but never together and it made him feel calmer somehow with what they were to face.

Clarke mulled over his words, and couldn't find fault with what he said. She had actually had the same thoughts that he had voiced and felt drawn to the life they had experienced with the T'Owvie. It was like the life she had with Madi, but seemingly more fulfilled in a lot of ways, and she wasn't sure if it was because of the T'Owvie, or the relationship between her and Bellamy.

She reluctantly moved away from Bellamy, looking in his eyes, "Let's go make sure we have gun support by that jump ship and get Indra back. Then we worry about what comes next." She said softly, her eyes asking for unity and support.

Bellamy pinched his lips together, giving her a short curt nod. They were going to get Indra back and support the T'Owvie, but have to accept the consequences that decision brought and he leaned in quickly giving her a soft kiss before leaving his forehead against hers. "Together."

Plans had been set and a timeline sorted for Raven and the crew on the ship to complete the shield for the drop ship so they could make the meeting with Krass, and the majority of the camp had been packed up already. It didn't take long and they were putting away the last of the crates in the ship and Echo had joined them in the final prep for take-off.

She had just finished filling them in on Karson's injuries when they told her of the jump ship plan and she was looking around at the grim faces as Bellamy finished explaining about the weapons, "This man needs to be taken out. I don't see why you had to take any kind of time to decide that."

Clarke scowled at her in frustration and resentment, knowing that she was right, "It's not that simple Echo and you know it." She said, trying not to have an edge to her words, but failing.

Her face darkened in response to Clarke's words and she clenched her jaw tight, "I am going to go strap in." She finally retorted tightly and stalked off, shooting Bellamy a last look of anger as she did.

Bellamy hung his head, shaking it slightly before looking up at Clarke, "You know she's just stating what we all decided." He said as the room remained silent with the heaviness of stress.

Clarke's anger deflated a little and she slumped in her seat at Shaw sat, starting the take-off sequence, "I know, but it doesn't mean I will take what we are about to do lightly, or decide to do it on a whim." She replied quietly.

Bellamy walked past her chair and stopped for a moment to put a hand on her shoulder, "Let focus on getting Indra back for now." He stated and moved to strap in.

It didn't take long until they were in the air, and as soon as they were clear of the shield, the computer alerted Shaw to a message from Raven. Clarke reached over and hit the switch, selecting it to play across the speakers.

" _Emori is leaving now with Jordan. They are going to enter from the dark side to keep their approach hidden and the weapons are up and running. You guys need to sort things out soon. It's getting way to quiet and creepy up here and I am getting pretty tired of rations._ "

Her voice crackled off and Clarke noticed the slightly pained look that flashed across Shaw's face as he adjusted their course and her heart went out a little for him being away from Raven for this long.

It didn't take long for them to make it to the clearing that Krass had indicated and as Shaw brought the ship down, they could see Krass and his men gathered in the open space of the camp where they all first met. Clarke tensed as she thought she could make out about a half dozen of Krass's men waiting for them before they dipped below the tree line to land.

Once the ship was down, they secured everything and armed up with minimal weapons, hiding them as best as they could from sight. The tension was paramount as Clarke pulled the lever, and the ramp lowered. The weather had cleared, for the most part, but as they had landed Clarke had noticed an ominous cloud front moving its way in their direction and Clarke just hoped that as they were in a communications silence, that Emori and Jordan made it through the dense layer and oncoming storm in one piece.

As the group cleared the tree line and rounded the side of the structure the tension hit a new high. Krass was standing with six large men and two had Indra held up between them, seemingly lifeless to his left, a self-important smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Madi reached out and placed a hand on Octavia's arm, holding the woman back from doing something that could jeopardize them all as Krass sneered further at their approach. They stopped a little more than 20 feet away as if there was an invisible line drawn between the groups, facing off with harsh stares of intimidation.

"So nice of you to finally join us," Krass said, eventually turning his gaze from Octavia to Bellamy. "I am assuming you are Bellamy?" He added as more of a statement than a question.

"We're here as you _requested_ Krass. Name your terms for peace and then release our person." Bellamy growled out eyeing Indra's beaten and still form between Krass's guards noticing with relief the rise and fall of her chest with her breathing.

"Ah yes, my terms. For starters," He began, his gaze returning to drift over to Octavia and Clarke with slow appraisal, "Why don't we talk about the women." He smiled, almost greedily at them both.

"Over my dead body." Octavia spat out, Madi's arm, holding her firmly rooted in place as she nearly vibrated with her anger.

Krass just smiled as Clarke grit her teeth, "What exactly are you wanting with women?" She asked feeling sick as her mind dreaded hearing what she figured he would say.

"I hate to be crude, but we need fresh brood stock. If we want to purify our genome of the alien DNA back to propagating as we are supposed to, we need strong females to propagate and fortify the blood lines." He said bluntly, letting his words fall on the group.

Clarke could see Bellamy out of the corner of her eye and saw the muscles in his jaw working as he tried to control his anger. "Is that the only term?" She asked through clenched teeth, unable to trust herself with any other statements.

Krass's smile crept up a little further as he regarded Clarke, "That is the main one yes, but you can throw in the exact location of Haven and access to the Eligis and all of its population and hethalodium." He said gesturing is hands to the sky.

"You want what?!" Clarke managed to squeak out as Bellamy reached out and grabbed her arm making her realize she had taken a menacingly toward Krass and his crew.

"I'm pretty sure you heard me clearly, Clarke." He said slowly, flipping back to the welcoming gentle smile he first had when they originally met, then added nodding his head towards Indra, "Agree to my terms and we will return her and allow you to join our community and finally thrive on our planet the way our ancestors were meant to."

"This planet was never yours to begin with, so what if we don't want to agree with your terms or have terms of our own?" Bellamy said carefully as he saw Octavia shoot him a look while he regarded Krass carefully.

Krass's face fell a little as he turned his attention slowly back to Bellamy, "I sense that you don't believe my conviction, and frankly, I have no patients left for this game of ours." He said with an exaggerated sigh, and leveled Bellamy and Clarke with a dark look. "In truth, we both know I don't actually need you to give in to my demands. I have the resources to take what I want from you and Haven. I was hoping you would agree reasonably, but that doesn't seem to be the case." And with that he turned away and nodded to his men as all hell broke loose.

"Bell...!" Octavia yelled in warning as time seemed to slow, but yet they weren't fast enough in all of the confusion and chaos that erupted.

The guard on the other side of Krass stepped over to where the others had Indra's limp body supported between them and grabbed her head from behind, twisting it with a sharp, sickening crack, to a chorus of screams "NO!" from everyone else. At the same time, while the guards raised their weapons to fire at Bellamy, there was a roar of engines over the trees and the ground between the groups exploded with loud pops, causing everyone to scatter for cover as Octavia ripped her arm from Madi's grasp and dashed forward towards where the guards had dropped Indra's body in a heap on the ground.

She cut down the only guard that hadn't dove for cover with a flash of her knife and collapsed on Indra's lifeless form with a heart crushing wail before lifting her head with a feral snarl to find Krass in the smoke and explosions.

She barely registered the sounds of Bellamy and Madi screaming her name, or the loud pops of small exploding patches of dirt and vegetation as shots rained down around her from the jump ship. "KRASS!" She yelled, standing in a protective stance over Indra's body, "YOU WILL PAY WITH YOUR LIFE!" She yelled pointing her knife at him as she stood headless to all the danger, shots, and dirt flying around her.

Krass looked over at her menacing form briefly and flashed her a sadistic smile before disappearing in the woods amidst a flurry of exploding trees and branches until the only sound in the clearing was the roar of the jump ship engines as it hovered to land.

Madi was the first to reach Octavia, who immediately lashed out in an attack in protection of the body at her feet. Clarke screamed as Madi countered with a snarl, dodging the strikes coming at her with a blind fury before Bellamy tackled Octavia to the ground.

She thrashed, and kicked, screaming curses at him to let her go until the fury gave way to an all-consuming grief and she went limp in her brothers' arms, and broke in to heart wrenching sobs. Clarke wrapped Madi in her arms as she started to cry as they stood watching Bellamy hold Octavia, rocking her slowly, eyes brimming with his own tears as he whispered softly in her ear.

The clearing was silent as Emori cut the engines and her and Jordan exited the jump ship in a rush to see the group huddled around a body on the ground and raced over as fast as they could. Clarke looked at the two as they approached with bitter-sweet relief and let go of Madi long enough to give Emori a hug and surprise Jordan with one as well.

"We should get out of here." Emori said quietly to Clarke as she scanned the woods warily.

Clarke nodded, turning to Madi, "Head back to the other ship with Jordan and Emori, and have Murphy come with a stretcher to give us a hand?" she asked seeing Emori's face lighten thankfully.

Madi nodded and Clarke turned back to Bellamy and Octavia on the ground. Her sobs had subsided and she was just sniffling slightly, while still allowing Bellamy to hold her lightly. He looked up, hurt plain across his face as Clarke approached carefully.

"We need to move. Murphy is going to be here in a sec with a stretcher to take Indra back to the ship." She said softly looking down at Indra's form, fresh tears stinging her eyes.

At her words, Octavia stirred in Bellamy's arms and rose in silence, removing her cloak and laying it over Indra's form. Kneeling, she leaned down touching her forehead against Indra's, "Yup gonplei ste odon Indra Kom Wonkru." She stated softly as the others murmured the same.

Octavia stood, tears drying on her face and her stare hard, "Krass dies by my hand. Jus drein jus draun." She growled and stalked off in the direction of the ship as Murphy came through the trees with a skid, Madi on one side, Jordan pushing and Emori walking solemnly beside him.


	27. Chapter 27

**Hey all...surprise! It seems I have been able to find my groove again. Sorry to all that may not have appreciated me killing off Indra, but it just seemed to fall into place when I was story planning. To my faithful reviewers...THANK YOU! You guys are amazing and I am truly humbled that you like what I am writing. For those who may be new...thank you for sticking with 27 chapters and counting! Please, leave me your thoughts and comments, I appreciate them all! Hope you like my tribute to one of the originals grounders...**

 **Chapter XXVII**

Echo was standing by the door of the ship waiting as the group returned except for Emori and Murphy who returned to the drop ship. All were quiet but alert as they made their way quickly up the ramp with Indra's body, now covered on the skid. She bowed her head silently, mouths forming the words the others had already said as a good-bye.

Clarke made her way to the bridge as the others secured the body and strapped in. "Let's head back to the cavern." She said with an exhausted sigh. The adrenaline of the meeting and everything that happened, finally wearing of, leaving her feeling drained and weak. "Can we fit the jump ship in beside us there?" She added as the bridge door hissed open and Bellamy came in with Madi and Jordan in tow.

"We should be able to do it." He said, drawing out his words as he squinted his eyes in thought for a moment. "I will send the message to Emori and have her follow us in." he added flipping some switches and firing up the engines.

It didn't take long until they were touching down again in the cavern and shutting down the engines of both ships as a group gathered at the entrance to Haven in obvious protection of their hide away. Clarke lowered the ramp cautiously and descended with her hands up as a sign that they were safe and the group parted, and Archon walked through towards Clarke and the others with a pained expression.

"Loss. Loss your faces show." She said as she approached Clarke, walking right past her with only a small nod of acknowledgement, to take the hands of a stunned Octavia in her own frail ones. "Child, you suffer much for so young." She added softly as Octavia started to blink furiously, her venire of hard anger cracking as her eyes brimmed with fresh tears.

Archon looked up at a gentle rumbling sound as the stretcher came to the top of the ramp being pushed by Madi and Echo. "Come. Tribute we shall give for the brave." She said returning her soft gaze to Octavia and patting her hand as she let the other one go. "We must talk grave things after." She added nodding at Clarke and Bellamy as she passed.

The group settled into their quarters and rooms were shuffled slightly to accommodate Emori and Jordan's arrival as Archon had Indra's body taken to their healing rooms to be attended prior to Octavia's request for a pyre. Jordan, although attempting restraint for respect sake, was nearly vibrating with excitement as they turned each corner and ran into each person in Haven.

Clarke pulled Shaw aside and ask him to keep an eye on Jordan while she took Madi back to their apartment to see to Indra's meager personal belongings so that they could be given to Gaia when she was awoken. He agreed with a small smile as out of all of them, he and Jordan had the least connection to Indra and he gave them their space to grieve and allowed Jordan to be shown around a planet for the first time in his life.

Bellamy felt the weariness to his bones as he followed Madi into their residence and walked behind her to Indra's room. He just watched in silence as she reverently collected the items, placing them in her pack before sitting a moment on the meticulously made bed.

"Do you believe in life after death?" Madi asked so softly that Bellamy almost missed it, as she sat looking at the pack sitting on a chair across from her.

Bellamy heard the door open softly and Clarke's familiar footsteps make their way over to where they were and he walked into the room sitting on the bed. "I honestly don't know," He started, feeling Clarke's eyes on him. "But, I think, like you and the Commanders, when as many people care for someone like Indra, we all keep a piece of her alive in our memories. And that carries on."

Madi hiccupped slightly as tears rolled down her cheeks, looking ever the young age she truly was, and leaned against Bellamy, letting the grief wash over her, separate from the minds of the Commanders. Bellamy hesitated for a moment glancing up at Clarke who had tears in her own eyes as she hugged her middle with her arms tightly, not wanting her desire to comfort Madi intrude on the moment with Bellamy.

As her silent cries continued, and he wrapped his arm around her slight form and smoothed her hair, with soft shushing sounds as he had for Octavia. He marveled in the moment on how much she could remind him of when Octavia was young and it brought out his protective side. He felt an anger and fierce desire to keep her from feeling the pain of loss ever again and found himself murmuring, "We will make this right. We will avenge her, I promise."

Her tears slowed and her breathing evened out, her head having slid a little further off his shoulder to his mid chest, leaving a large wet mark from her tears on his front. Clarke moved then into the small room and crouched down to look Madi in the eye, but found the girl had cried herself to sleep in Bellamy's arms.

Clarke smoothed a few strands of hair from her face and looked up to Bellamy as he looked at her questioningly, "She's cried herself to sleep Bellamy." Clarke said just above a whisper and looked back at her peaceful face.

"I got this, can you get her boots off though?" He asked shifting Madi carefully. Clarke nodded and made short work of slipping her boots off before Bellamy swept her up in his arms with barely an effort.

She followed them out and into Madi's small room, watching as he gently laid her on the bed, gathering up the light blanket at her feet and covering her with it gently as she turned, mumbling in her sleep before falling back into a deep, regular breathing pattern.

Bellamy stood up, moving back a little as Clarke squeezed in and laid a soft kiss on Madi's forehead before depositing the boots she was still carrying against the edge of the bed out of the way. Straightening up, before she could even say something, Bellamy enveloped her in his arms, crushing her to his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist automatically and squeezed him just as hard to her, breathing his comforting scent, and feeling the dampness of tears on his shirt against her chest.

Bellamy felt the tears he had been fighting back spring up behind his closed eyes and he buried his face in Clarke's hair, finally letting some fall into her windblown curls, breathing deep to steady his emotions. He clung to Clarke for a moment and the only sound in the room was the deep, ragged intake of his breath as he tried to collect himself.

Clarke felt his chest heave against her cheek as he succumbed to his own grief after being so strong for Octavia and now Madi and her heart was overcome, so she just squeezed his waist as hard as she could in support. She felt him shift slightly after a moment and she leaned her head away, keeping him tight in her embrace. He glanced at Madi for a moment and then nodded his head in the direction of the door and they separated to exit, Clarke closing the door behind them silently.

Bellamy moved to the kitchen and started to prepare a light meal as he realized they hadn't eaten since before they had left to meet with Krass. The larger of the two suns had been low in the horizon as they had landed and he figured they had both set by now.

Clarke collapsed on the couch watching him as he moved to put meats and cheese and fruits on plates for them out of their refrigerated unit, and her own eyes started to feel heavy and she yawned loudly drawing a lopsided, pitying look from Bellamy.

"You didn't get any sleep last night. You must be completely exhausted." He said as he moved out to the couch, setting plates of food on the small, low table in from of them.

"I'm hungrier right now more than tired." She said, another yawn cutting off any further words as he chuckled and sat down.

"Sure...right." He muttered back sliding a plate closer to her as she sat up and snagged some of the meat and cheese, and making short work of finishing it off before grabbing a crusty, seed covered bread slice.

They ate in reflective silence for a few moments and Clarke noticed that he had set aside a third plate with food at the far corner of the table. "For Madi?" she finally asked around a mouthful of bread that had been slathered with a salty, soft cheese.

He shook his head slightly, "For Octavia. I'm pretty sure she will be back soon before they look at having the pyre. I think we should let Madi sleep." He said, his eyes flicking to the closed door across the room.

Just as he finished speaking when the door to the suite opened and Octavia came in, eyes puffy and glazed over as if she was surprised and confused as to how she gotten there.

Bellamy jumped up and guided her over to the chair, letting her collapse into the soft, fluffy cushions. "Here, eat." He said as he slid the third plate over in front of her.

She looked at the food with disdain for a moment and Clarke noticed that he had purposely left the plate clean of any of the meat products, sticking to the cheeses, fruits and root vegetables.

"I'm not hungry, big brother." She finally said, eyes still not really focused on her surroundings and Bellamy sat down again on the couch beside Clarke.

"When are we doing the pyre?" Clarke asked softly trying another approach by pouring her a glass of the red, sweet spirit and placing it in front of her.

She blinked a couple times and registered the cup nodding an uncharacteristic gesture of thanks towards Clarke before taking a long drink. "Archon suggested waiting a few more hours till it's really dark. A storm is almost over us so it will also help to hide any smoke." She said softly after a few more drinks, and then eyed the food again, picking up a piece of cheese.

Clarke cleared her throat and Bellamy turned is concerned gaze away from Octavia for a moment as she stood, gathering thier empty plates and cups. "I will let you two have some time together and I think I will try to follow Madi's lead and get a little sleep. We have a long night ahead of us yet." She stated and busied herself with clearing away the dishes as Bellamy shot her an appreciative glace.

She paused only a moment to reach over the back of the couch and give Bellamy's shoulder a squeeze before doing the same to Octavia, "I'm am so very sorry Octavia." She said softly, causing Octavia to pause her nibbling on the fruit to lift her head in a slight, stiff nod of acknowledgement.

"I'm fine, Bell. You don't need to hover." Octavia finally said a few moments after Clarke had disappeared behind the screen in the loft, not lifting her eyes from the plate she continued to pick at.

"You aren't fine O." He countered gently as he refilled her glass, not knowing what else to do in the moment.

"Indra is gone, and I will avenge her. Krass will die by my hand big Brother, and God help anyone that gets in my way." She said, her words sharpening as she spoke, becoming hard and edged with anger.

"O..." Bellamy started, sliding forward to sit on the edge of his seat to confront her but she cut him off before he could say anything else by standing up abruptly.

"I'm tired Bell, I am going to get some sleep. I suggest you do the same." She said and turned on her heal before throwing a, "Thank you for the food," over her shoulder before she closed the door on her room.

Bellamy clenched his jaw and faught the urge to go after her. He was worried that she was going to go off on a suicide mission in hopes of gaining her revenge on Krass, but he sighed and stood, choosing to clear her plate and cup before heading up to the loft.

Clarke was curled up, facing him, near the edge of the bed on her side in a fetal position, clutching one of the pillows to her, fast asleep as he reached the top of the stairs. Her steady breathing calmed his nerves and he sat on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes and dirt stained pants and shirt, noticing Clarke had done the same, leaving her discarded clothes in a heap in the corner. He tossed his clothes on hers and crawled carefully into the bed, trying not to disturb her, curling up against her back and drawing her into him as he slipped and arm under her neck and pillow.

It didn't take long for her warmth and slow, regular breathing pattern to lull him into a deep sleep, filled with dreams of explosions and dirt and chaos.

Clarke's voice seemed to sound so far away as Bellamy's mind struggled to pull itself from a deep, finally dreamless sleep, but eventually he managed to pry his eyes open to the soft glow of lights and Clarke's face hovering a couple feet from his face.

"Hey," Clarke whispered as she watched his eyes flutter open and try to focus on her face. "They are going to do the pyre in about 20 minutes. We need to leave soon. I am just going to go get Madi up." She said raising her voice just above a whisper as he fully opened his eyes.

Bellamy was warm and groggy and took a moment to process what she had said as she tossed a last, "Don't fall back asleep." Warning over her shoulder at him. He stretched in the bed, muscles complaining from where he had sprinted and then dove for cover earlier.

Clarke opened Madi's door and called her name softly, watching the girl's eyes flutter open as Bellamy's had done a couple minutes ago. She relayed the same message and didn't exit her room until she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and yawning wide.

Clarke noticed as she shut Madi's door that Octavia had already left at some point and the brief thought flashed through her mind that she had taken off to find Krass. It wouldn't have been out of character for her as she still was the more hot-headed Blake, but she knew that she would never miss Indra's pyre and her last chance to say her good-byes.

Within minutes Bellamy was making his way down the stairs, pulling a rumpled shirt over his head as he did, his curls unruly and messy, making him look more disheveled. He ran his fingers through his hair quickly after passing by a wall fixture that was reflective and catching a glimpse of himself.

"Madi ready?" he asked, voice low and growly with lack of sleep just as her door opened and she exited with another great yawn, eyes still red and puffy from crying herself to sleep.

She smiled shyly at Bellamy as she approached, slightly embarrassed by crying, and then falling asleep on him just a short while ago. "Hey. Did you guys get some sleep?" she asked accepting a quick cup of the spicy drink from Clarke and cuddling it with another yawn.

"A little. Finish up. We need to get going in five minutes." Clarke said, her tone turning mothering as Madi just hugged the mug, eyes closed.

She sighed and opened her eyes again, fresh tears brimming, threatening to fall. "Did Octavia come back?" she asked blinking furiously to keep from crying then averting her gaze back into her cup.

Bellamy's face darkened and he nodded, "Yeah, but she was gone when we got up." He said, his eye flicking to her empty room, as his jaw tightened while his thoughts tumbled in his head.

"Okay. Let's get moving and go say our goodbye's." Clarke finally said breaking the heavy silence as no one wanted to say anything further.

As they exited their residence, Shaw, Jordan, Murphy and Emori were walking up the path chatting quietly. They all nodded at each other and continued on their way, all conversation lulled to silence as they headed to the healing chambers.

Bellamy spotted Octavia by Indra's side with Echo and a few of the others while he marveled at how the T'Owvie had wrapped her up in a gauzy deep purple shroud, her sword glinting from under the fabric in her hands. They had placed her on a mobile skid, and once the Archon arrived with a very pale Karson, held up by Bran who was followed closely by his family.

Archon nodded and they started to move the skid at the head of the group followed closely by Octavia, Madi, Bellamy, Clarke, and the others in a somber processional out passed the hall to a small open space that had been obviously cleared and set up with a large wooden pyre.

Bellamy stepped forward beside Octavia and lifted Indra, careful to not shift her hands on her sword, and gently laid her on the wood. He leaned down and whispered, "May we meet again." Before moving back to let the other come forward one by one and say their goodbyes.

One of the T'Owvie stepped forward with a lit torch, while the wind started to pick up a little and stood beside Archon. She glanced over at Octavia with a questioning look and Octavia nodded sharping causing Archon to raise her hands, voice clear and strong over the group, "Peace find this soul, loved she was. Strength, honour, wisdom were hers. Never in memory be forgotten. Her life story be passed to generations of T'Owvie to come." And with her words all the T'Owvie spoke in unison in their language. "H'dithry krae Eendra!"

The torch bearer walked to Octavia and handed her the light as it flickered across her stony expression, silent tears marking a path down her cheeks and she stepped forward lighting the herbal brush at the base in a slow circle around the pyre. The only sounds were the sharp crackling of the wood catching the flame and Madi's heavy breaths as she sobbed fresh tears in Clarke's arms.


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey all, this chapter was a bit of a struggle. There's lots I needed to bridge to prep for the next portion of the story. WARNING: THIS IS A RATED M CHAPTER. I haven't added that in the past with violence, language or…..other stuff, but I want to make it clear. To my faithful reviewers…ShinyGorram, Sissylks…I don't have enough words for how much I appreciate your words and support for the last few chapters. Keep the comments coming people! They drive me to post bester and faster! I love hearing what you think of this little world in my mind….and on that note…**

 **Disclaimer: I STILL don't own anything, all rights to CW**

 **Chapter XXVIII**

They managed to complete Indra's pyre just in time it seemed. The storm that had been threatening for the last couple days finally struck with its full force shortly after the fire had died out and everything had been cleaned up. It had now been going strong for four days with no signs of letting up.

The wind whipped the trees and branches around with ferocious strength, bending them, as if to test their ability to bend and move to its will, while still managing to stay together. The rain lashed out, coming in sheets with such speed and force, it would knock you down and have you soaked to the bone within seconds while, feeling like you were slowly being stripped of a layer or two at the same time. If it was just those two, Clarke wouldn't have been too worried, but the fierce electrical storms that struck in tandem with the storms caused serious electrical issues, even with the T'Owvie living on the planet for hundreds of years and troubleshooting issues in the off season.

The only good thing about it was, it basically kept Krass and his supposed army where he was, and gave everyone in Haven a chance to plan and prep for the inevitable onslaught that he promised. Not to mention it kept Octavia like a trapped animal, stalking the caves, trying to find a way out to get her revenge.

In the midst of all of the meetings, prep and constant electrical issues, Clarke enjoyed moments just watching Jordan learn and grow, experiencing life, on an actual planet, with others and a whole new race of people. His child-like wonder and enthusiasm seemed to infect all around him, except for Octavia who he learned in the first few hours to steer clear of, and it seemed after such heart ache and loss to be a welcomed distraction by all in their group. She also spent time with Murphy and Emori, revelling in their joy of being back together. Emori seemed to soften the darkness in Murphy somehow, letting him show a different side, a thoughtful and caring side, that he seemed to reserve for her and Jordan especially which was a welcome distraction between long strategy meetings.

Clarke had just gotten out of, yet another of such strategy meetings, and her head was fuzzy with all the information and random scenarios they had been going over as a group, and she felt like she needed some place and quiet to compose herself before heading back to the house to meet up with Madi and Jordan. He had naturally slid into a place in their little family, and had taken on a brotherly role with Madi, and as a result had started to spend the majority of his time at their house in the evenings with her.

Clarke sighed and walked up the steep side of the cavern towards the back corner where there was a small, hidden passageway that she had discovered after she away from everyone early in the morning after Indra's pyre. It was steep with a sharp curve, descending to a small outcrop, under a larger overhang of the solid rock above so it was protected from the onslaught of the storms, while it looked out over a small valley and expanse of green forest.

As she rounded the corner to the outcrop, she noticed a figure already present and paused, her breath catching in debate as to whether she should continue or turn around and go back to the house. While she paused, the figure turned in the dim light towards her as if instinctively noticing there was someone present regardless of her soundless approach.

"Come child. You found favorite spot?" Archon's voice said clear over the wind and rain of the storm, thrashing the forest below in the valley.

Clarke hesitated for only a moment and then move forward, "I'm sorry, I didn't know this was your spot." She mumbled, disappointed that she wasn't going to get there alone time she was hoping for to gather her thoughts.

She must have frowned, as Archon chuckled slightly, "Alone, you can soon. Trek hard for old bones." She said, seeming to read Clarke's thoughts clearly.

Clarke smiled and noticed that Archon had found a decent sized boulder from somewhere and was perched on it, just far enough back to not get wet if the wind shifted, but close enough to still have the violent breeze whip the edges of her skirts around her feet. She briefly wondered just how old those bones were as she eyed the size of the boulder.

The silence stretched out between them amicably and despite her earlier disappointments, Clarke felt herself relaxing and her mind calming as she watched the rippling movement the wind had on the treetops, like waves on an ocean.

"You shoulder much, so young." Archon said turning her head a little to give Clarke a studying look, then turning her attention back to the storm with a small sigh. "This not fresh start you wanted." She added to the wind so quietly Clarke almost missed it.

Clarke decided to sit on the slightly damp earth beside Archon and stared at her hands in her lap for a moment, "No. Not really. But I'm not sure if I deserve one." She responded to her own surprise at her honesty.

Archon's gaze never faltered as she stared out over the trees, but she reached a withered and wrinkled hand over, gently placing it on Clarke's shoulder. "All deserve peace, child." She said, causing tears to well in Clarke's eyes.

She felt Archon shift on her stone to turn and face her, while she kept a firm, but soft grip on her shoulder, "You not beyond forgiveness, though more struggle, I fear, gain peace we seek." And she stood with a small groan and sad smile, adding, "You give much, all, maybe for people."

Clarke opened her mouth to respond with confusion playing across her features, but Archon chuckled again before turning away and starting to walk slowly towards the path, "Blessed, we are, you give for us. Place always have with us here." She said over her shoulder, cutting off any further conversation before she turned the corner out of sight.

Clarke sat for a couple more minutes slightly stunned at the encounter before she shifted from sitting in the dirt to the stone Archon managed to, somehow, place there. She turned Archon's words over in her mind as she watched the wind slowly increase as the electrical storm in the distance inched it's way closer. Did Archon really think she was going to give everything to save all of them again, while offering her a place for her and, by extension her people, within Haven? She wondered if they all could finally have the peace, the sense of community and belonging they had been looking for within this group.

With a sigh she realized that the storm was blocking out any significant light at this point and figured it was her cue to head back to the house. Madi and Bellamy would be wondering where she had gotten too if she wasn't home soon and she got up, walking slowly, her mind continuing to chew on Archon's words about forgiveness and the struggles ahead.

It didn't take long for her to get back to her residence and as she placed her hand on the door, she could already hear Jordan and Madi in a heated debate over some kind of system the T'Owvie were trying to modify to stabilize their power grid and she couldn't help but smile as she entered.

Bellamy was in the kitchen preparing a meal, as he seemed to have a much better knack for it than any of them, and Madi and Jordan were on the couch, both waving thier arms as they talked over each other's arguments in animated conversation. Bellamy looked up at Clarke as she crossed the room and joined him behind the counter in the galley area.

He instinctively leaned into her as his hands were busy washing the dirt from some tuber root vegetables, while some sort of meat and sauce bubbled away happily on the cooking element, making Clarkes stomach growl with hunger loudly. He planted a quick kiss on her cheek, something he had been doing more of lately, causing her to blush reflexively in sudden shyness.

"You okay?" he said in low tones as he moved back, focus again on the vegetables he was washing off, before transferring them to a towel and shutting off the water. He turned his full gaze on her then and she was hit with his dark brown eyes, full of concern, studying her face.

Bellamy watched her school her facial expression with a quick, minute shake of her head before she smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I'm fine. Really." She said, putting her conversation on the back thought as she watched Bellamy's face cloud over with disbelief in her words.

He knew she was lying, but it didn't seem like she was in a place where he could push her for answers, when he heard her stomach growl again loudly and he couldn't help but smirk at her with a lopsided grin, "Suppers almost ready. Why don't you go wash up and change? You are covered in mud in the back." He said, giving her a little push out of the galley area while pointing at the dirt trail she left behind as she moved.

"Sorry," she said looking chagrin at the dirt on the floor, "I will be quick." She added, laughing lightly at his attempt to shoo her out of the kitchen with a broom, in a mock display of frustration, and she made her way to the stairs, pausing to plant a quick kiss to the top of Madi's head as she argued a new point while Jordan scowled at her words.

This was the way the last few evenings had gone since the storms had block them in, with only the addition of Octavia coming in late at night and leaving again early in the morning. Clarke knew that Bellamy was worried about his sister's state of mind, but she left him be with it until he was ready to talk to her about things. As she changed her clothes, she felt both peace and anxiety about the 'normal' routine her life had settled into the last couple of days. It seemed like a false sense of safety and community that they were living, and she had come to realize she desperately wanted it to be true, as Archon's words had offered. It also felt like something that was sure to be ripped away from her very soon with this war coming with Krass and she was trying very hard to not put hope in this idealistic life she was living.

She didn't realize she had paused after dressing, lost in her thoughts until she was startled by Bellamy's hand on her shoulder, her instincts quickly taking over, as she snatched the hand, quickly putting his wrist into a lock that dropped him to his knees before she even had a chance to register what she was doing.

"Oh, my God, Bellamy, I'm sorry!" She said instantly letting go of him with a shame filled, apologetic expression on her face.

His surprise was just as quickly wiped away and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as her gingerly rubbed the offended wrist, "You know," he started, desperately trying to keep his features schooled, "if you wanted me on my knees, all you had to do was ask." He said in a low tone, eyes flashing with his teasing.

Clarke blinked twice as she registered his words and her shame disappeared, replaced with mock offence, watching him try, and fail at keeping a straight face. "Bellamy!" She hissed, playing along, enjoying the moment, "There are children present!" She rebuked him playfully back in a low tone as to not be heard by the pair still arguing on the main level.

He finally broke and smiled his cocky grin at her, "It would be a shame to waste the good meal I have gotten ready too." He stated getting up and offering her a hand as she grinned back. His face clouded for a moment as she reached for his hand, "Seriously though, is everything alright?" He asked pulling her to her feet and wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her close.

Clarke sighed and wrapped one of her arms reflexively around his waist and the other over his shoulder gripping him tight, suddenly over taking by a need to have him close. "Yeah." She whispered and squeezed her eyes shut, inhaling his scent, and letting his warmth seep to her very core. "It is for now." She said more to herself than in answer to his question.

Bellamy sighed and almost didn't catch her last words even as he felt her speak into his chest and he tightened his arms for a moment. He knew he had the same worries with the coming battle and felt like this life they had could easily be yanked out from under him at any moment. That caused him more than one sleepless moment over the last few nights.

"Um, Bellamy? I think something is burning." Madi yelled from the main level breaking the moment between him and Clarke abruptly with Bellamy lurching away, swearing, "Shit!" And rushing back down the stairs as Clarke couldn't help but smile again and shake her head.

Conversation over supper was relatively superficial after yet another full day of planning and prepping for the impending war, both Madi and Jordan picking up on the under tones of tension as he kept his stream of chatter to a surprising minimum for most of the rest of the evening till it was close to the time he usually left to go back to the suite he now shared with Shaw and a couple others as Murph and Emori had managed a small one room residence just down from where Echo and Miller were.

Jordan pulled Clarke aside as Madi assisted Bellamy with cleaning up the dishes and food. "Um, I wanted to ask you something." Jordan started, his voice low as he focused intently on picking at a thread on the pillow in his lap.

Clarke managed not to roll her eyes out of impatience as she waited for him to ask his question, and he finally took a breath and met her gaze, "Can Madi stay with Shaw and I tonight?" He rushed out quickly.

Of all the things she had thought he might ask, this definitely didn't even make the list and she pause a moment, mouth open and closing as she ran it over in her mind. Before she could form and answer he rushed on. "We have been asked to help with a new electrical system and they want to start early and Shaw already set up a room for her and I wanted to keep going over some programming and electrical stuff and..." He rambled on rapid fire.

Clarke held up her hand to stop him and sighed. "Madi?" She said raising her voice eyeing her out of her side vision as she flinched a little, and sheepishly turned towards her.

"Yeah Clarke?" She said wearily, knowing exactly what had just transpired between Jordan and Clarke and cringing just a little at her tone.

"Why would you do that to Jordan?" She asked as his head snapped up and his dumbfounded gaze bounced back between her and Madi. She turned her head to give Madi a withering motherly look and noticed Bellamy's shoulders shaking with silent laughter at the scene as he stood at the sink, back to them.

"Well, I, it's just, I figured he would have a better chance of getting a yes from you. Unless you are in a meeting you don't seem to like me out of your sight." Madi said hanging her head at being caught and called out in from on Jordan for putting him in the line of fire. She had lowered her voice slightly with the last of her words considering they weren't really fair since just loosing Indra, but she was feeling smothered.

Clarke huffed a moment and squinted her eyes at Madi in frustration before turning back to Jordan, "I know you aren't a kid, but you just got played. Next time you tell her she can ask me something herself, okay?" Clarke said as he realized she wasn't mad at him and he nodded furiously trying to still figure out just what happened.

Clarke leveled her gaze back to Madi again feeling slightly guilty over keeping her on a short leash, but still not wanting to let go what Madi had done, "As for you, I expect next time you will ask me yourself for something you would like? Instead of coercing someone into doing the dirty work for you?" And she took note of Bellamy's silent laughter again as he stood behind her.

Clarke sighed in resignation and showed she was relenting, "Fine, but I expect that you find me at lunch in the hall so we can connect, AND..." She said holding up her hand as both Jordan and Madi beamed at her, "You are NOT to go outside the perimeter. PERIOD." She said forcefully, getting her point across.

Madi bounced over to Clarke and hugged her, grinning from ear to ear, "Thanks Clarke, and I _promise_ , we won't go outside the perimeter." Madi vowed vehemently as Jordan nodded vigorously.

Clarke then allowed herself to chuckle for a moment at her utter child-like behaviour as she bounded off to get her already packed bag and Jordan stood, "Thanks Clarke." He said sheepishly as he waited for Madi to come back.

Clarke's face clouded for a moment and she lowered her voice slightly, "You stay by her side. She will keep you safe." She said as his eyes widened and he nodded his promise as Madi bounded up. She may be young, but Indra had trained her well and she had the Commanders knowledge to draw on. Jordan didn't have any of that to keep him safe.

"See you tomorrow." She said, grinning and hugged Clarke, waving at Bellamy who had finished up in the kitchen.

They left in a flurry of renewed debate over another system, the door shutting on Jordan's scoffing protest to a suggestion Madi made about bypassing some system she felt was redundant and Clarke shook her head, trying to ease the tension in her chest of letting Madi out of her sight.

Bellamy slid an arm over her shoulders and she leaned into his chest as they looked at the door and he sighed, "Ah, kids." He said quietly, leaning down to speak into her hair.

Clarke hugged her arms around her middle as he turned her back to the couch and guiding her to sit. She watched him move back to the kitchen, pouring them some of the spicy hot drink, and return with hand her a cup and settle on the couch beside her.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, sipping their drinks before he shifted to look at Clarke who was lost in thought, "So, are you going to tell me how you are really doing?" He said, reading her thoughts far too easily.

Clarke smiled into her cup and shook her head slightly, marveling once again at how after so many years he still seemed to know her so well. She looked up with a sigh, "We are standing at the edge of a coming storm and I don't know if we can or will win." She said resting her head to the side on his arm that was draped over the back of the couch.

"Hmmmm." Was his low rumbling reply as he watched her eyes flutter closed for a moment as he felt the warm heat from her cheek where she rested it on his arm. "All we can do is plan." He added quietly, not wanting to move, but wishing he could set his mug down and run his hands through her hair.

Clarke smiled slightly and a small laugh bubbled up and she fixed her blue eyes on him, "And our plans always go so well..." She said with dark humor, eyeing him as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. It felt like there was more at stake this time and they needed to be as ready as possible.

He shifted, setting down his cup and reaching for her empty one, setting it beside his then drawing her close into his side with a happy, rumbling sigh. She felt so warm next to him, and it seemed to slowly push away all his anxiety, and calm his tumbling thoughts, sharpening his senses to how her shampoo seemed to hover around her like a pleasant cloud. How she seemed to fit into his side no matter if they were standing or sitting or...

Clarke closed her eyes and splayed her one hand over his lower chest as she listened to his heart beat below her cheek and noticed how it picked up its pace slightly as they lay on the couch. She couldn't seem to help herself and she worked her hand slowly up the soft material of his shirt to the collar, and to the warm, bare skin of his neck. She felt his heart rate slam into her cheek with every beat as he tilted his head to bury his face in her hair.

She shifted a little and slid out from her warm, nested spot and standing, reached a hand out to him in silent request as she searched his dark eyes, watching the pupils expand, and cheeks flush as he reached for her, standing up as well.

He let her lead him silently to the stairs and up to the loft, only turning to look at him when they reached the side of the bed. She was golden fire to him, blue eyes shining, slightly hooded with intent, and his heart picked up at a thundering pace.

Clarke wanted to tell him so many things before this looming war over took them, but it didn't seem right. It didn't seem right to say the words that meant so much when things were so uncertain. So, she focused on just showing him for the time being and slowly hooked her fingers under the hem of his shirt and lifted, letting her fingers train over his smooth skin.

Last time his ribs were still sporting an ugly bruise across his left side, but now, there was no sign of any injury and she marveled at the smoothness of his skin. He lifted his arms with that damn grin on his face. She started off hating that cocky, all knowing grin of his, but came to love how it made his eyes dance and come alive, full of teasing. Now it spurred her on, as she discarded the shirt to the floor and slowly trailed her fingers down his chest, over the smooth muscles of his stomach.

He let his eyes flutter closed, reveling in the feeling of her feathering touch, working a path of pure fire and heat down his chest to the waist band of his pants. He opened his eyes as his breathing started to quicken and he felt his whole body ignite with a deep heat, radiating from just below where her hands fumbled with his belt and he stepped forward, grasping her wrists and pulling her to him, needing to have her body against his.

She slammed suddenly in to a solid wall of masculinity and muscle, causing her to squeak in surprise as he trapped her wrists at her sides. Her head came up instinctively in response and immediately his mouth crashed into hers, wiping any thought away of how she wanted to show him slowly how she felt as every nerve and sense sparked and fired. She felt the heat pool low, her stomach tightening in anticipation of what was to come as his lips clashed against hers, tongues darting and dancing.

Bellamy let go of her wrist long enough to pull her shirt off in one fluid motion, then captured her mouth again, their tongues moving together, soft moans and short gasps of air the only sound in the room. Sliding his hands around her waist along the edge of her pants, he reached lower, grabbing her thighs and lifting her up in one fluid motion, her legs wrapping around his waist instinctively. He could feel the heat and dampness against the bare skin of his stomach as he strode the last couple of feet over to the bed, laying her down gently beneath him.

The beds sheet felt suddenly cool against her skin compared to the radiant heat of the man hovering above her and she felt him still for a moment causing her to open her eyes as she panted, to find him staring at her. His breathing coming in gasps as he hovered above her face, breath mingling with hers and his eyes searching, contemplating something that she couldn't quite figure out and she reached up to smooth a few strands away from his face, watching his eyes close as he leaned his cheek into her hand.

She seemed like a golden angel below him, cheeks flushed with arousal, lips swollen from his assault on them. He had so many dreams on the ring of her eyes studying his face as they were now, but they would eventually fade into the mist of waking, leaving his heart empty and aching. On occasion he had woken with her name on his lips, which had caused some uncomfortable moments and inevitable resentment between him and Echo. For a moment he worried this was another dream, and that she would fade away again until her hand reached up, its heat warming his cheek, causing his eyes to close.

After that, there was no thought other than the desperate need that was building between them and Bellamy let himself be swept away in the moment, hands moving on their own to rid them both of the last of their clothing. Shifting himself, to settle between her legs, he felt that damp heat brush over him momentarily, causing his breathing to hitch, hands clenching in her hair, pulling her head back to expose her neck. Slowly, painfully, he moved down her body feeling her shift and writhe under him, encouraging him further in his memorization of every inch of her skin with his mouth as her hands found his hair, guiding him lower to his prize.

Clarke could barely think as Bellamy seemed to consume her in every way as she felt him kiss and lick his way down her body. She could smell his scent on the pillow that cushioned her head, feel his hands working down her sides, soft, but yet rough at the same time, while his mouth teased her with flashes of small bites, and soothing licks, all the while his heaviness pressing promisingly against her leg. She wanted more, her body wanted more, and as a result her hands found their way into his hair, gently encouraging his actions to move lower to where her need was gathering with a shocking force.

Bellamy reached the source of her insistency and paused to look up her milky white skin to find her piercing blue eyes, clouded with lust, looking intently down at him, her bottom lip caught between her teeth in silent anticipation of the coming sensation of his mouth on her. He smiled, then moved to tease the crease of her inner thigh with his tongue and whiskers at the same time causing her to buck against his mouth, wiggling to try to angle herself to meet her folds with his tongue, while he shifted his hands to grip her hip bones, holding her in place.

"Ahhhh...Bellamy...no...more...please...don't...tease..." Clarke found herself pleading between ragged breaths, as he held her still, inching around in a slow circle, deliberately avoiding where she was breathlessly begging him to be. She felt his low growling chuckle at her words just before she felt his grip release on her hips and his mouth move, rewarding her with his hot tongue plunging inside her, causing her hips to arch to meet him.

She was wet and ready and it was all he could do to maintain control of himself as her hips slammed into his mouth, delving his tongue deep inside, while she moaned. She was so close that he could feel her muscles starting to quake, but he didn't want her to peak just yet. His body was begging to replace his tongue to the point it was throbbing painfully, so he moved away to her dismayed gasp and used her moisture to trail a path back up her body till he hovered over her again.

His eyes were all she could see, all she could focus on as she felt his hard tip tease her folds open and she wanted to move, burying him inside her, but the look in his eyes stayed her movement. His eyes were darks pools of lust, begging for more, begging for her to be his, to feel what he was feeling, flashing with uncertainty as he hesitated at her opening. In that moment she knew that waiting to say something anymore wasn't the right choice as heard him hesitantly say her name and faulter in the moment.

"Clarke..." Bellamy started, voice rough and thick with emotion, "I...do you..." He fumbled, body screaming at him to stop talking and thrust home, until he saw it in her eyes too. He saw the recognition of what he was trying to say, and the tears that welled up, spilling silently down the sides of her flushed face.

Clarke couldn't help the tears that started as all the emotions and sensations collapsed on her in that moment, and her breathing hitched. "I love you." She whispered watching his eyes change from uncertainty to awe, "I loved you while you were my best friend, I have loved you as we fought and were apart, and I...I think...I will always love you."

It felt like his heart stopped in his chest for a moment and he almost didn't believe he heard her right, or at all for a split second and he felt his mouth open and close in surprise at the depth of sincerity in her bright, tear-filled eyes. He blinked a couple times and found his voice, low, whispering the words he had wanted to say since she walked away from him at Camp Jaha, "I love you too. It's always been you, Clarke."

With those words he sealed their affirmation with the lightest of kisses as he felt her legs wrap around his hips. She tilted her hips, and in one swift movement she buried him deep inside her, fusing them together, causing them to both gasp against each other's mouths at the sensation, while his body took over.

Clarke didn't think it would have been possible for the moment to build further, but as they moved together, she felt it peak, her body letting go to the sensation but him moving inside her, back arching against his weight as her muscles stroked him in progressively intensifying waves, pushing him to join her in release at the same time.

His arms tighten around her with one final thrust, her name on his lips as her buried his mouth in her neck, and stars burst behind his closed eyes at the sheer intensity of the feeling. She clung to him as they rode out the wave of pleasure together, lost in the bliss they shared, panting as the last shivers washed over them and Bellamy eased his weight down on her as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, legs moving back to the bed to quiver from excursion.

Clarke held him, nestled on top of her, head tucked in by her neck, breath tickling her skin as they tried to slow their breathing and pounding heart rates, stroking his sweat dampened hair. She marveled at how his words seemed to shift something inside of her, as if something she never knew she was missing clicked into place. She felt whole for the first time since, well, since never, and she basked in the warm glow it created inside of her.

"Mmmmm," Bellamy mumbled against the skin of her neck, causing a shiver to shudder through her, and making him aware he was still deeply engaged inside of her. "I need to shift." He finally said with a tone of disappointment.

Clarke suddenly became aware of his absence from inside her as he moved to tuck her in against him while she tried to hold off the urge to dozed from the flood of endorphins and the warmth his body provided against her. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to help move so she was cradled in his arms at his side as he covered them both with the blanket.

He smoothed her hair and planted a kiss on the top of her head, "Good-night...Princess." He said quietly, almost hesitantly. He felt sleep starting to over-take him as he listened to her breathing evening out, and felt he body slowly getting heavier next to him as she drifted off. "I love you." He said in a low voice, trying out the words again with a slight grin.

Clarke smiled against his chest as she heard him speak and felt the three words rumble through his chest, "I love you too." She answered back, smile still lingering on her lips as sleep called to her.


	29. Chapter 29

**Hello my wonderful readers! What amazing reviews! I have been taking all your reviews into account and have put them into this chapter by making things a little clearer when I shift views. This chapter took me a bit write as I wrote, rewrote, deleted and rewrote it again. I hate bridge chapters so hopefully this one doesn't lag. Keep up the reviews peeps! I love hearing what you all think about where this is going!**

 **Chapter XXIX**

Bellamy edged into consciousness as he started to become aware of someone moving around on the main floor. He was warm and comfortable, laying on his side, Clarke nestled in his arms her back snug against his chest, her breathing deep and regular as she stayed in her peaceful sleep. He heard another thud again and his eyes opened to see the lights glowing from the main level. He carefully slipped his arm out from under Clarke and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders as she grumbled in her sleep, rolling on her stomach. He smiled and placed a kiss in her hair and pulled on his soft sleeping pants and a shirt before making his way downstairs to see what was going on.

He reached the top of the stairs and saw Octavia banging around in the kitchen, putting some food together, her face scowling in thought and frustration. "Can I help you find something?" He said just loud enough to be heard, but not so loud as to wake Clarke.

Octavia's head snapped up in surprise and anger, then smoothed to regret as her eyes took in her brother's appearance before they flicked up to the dark loft. "I didn't mean to wake you." She said in a low tone and went back to putting some food on a plate, her actions slower and more careful.

Bellamy sighed and sat on one of the stools at the counter, across from her. "It's okay. I have barely seen you." He finally said after struggling for a moment to find something to say.

Octavia started to eat, eyeing her brother sitting across from her, and she took note of the small changes she hadn't noticed since they saw each other again when he got them out of the bunker. The youthful look was gone in his features, replaced with the hard lines created by years of leadership and the weight of decisions that he had made over the years. Something now was different though, and she took note of how he seemed to have a clam about him and she felt a pang of jealousy.

"So, you and Clarke?" She finally asked, letting her jealousy and her pent-up anger getting the best of her in the moment and she watched his face darken as it did in the bunker when she called him out on his feelings about Clarke.

Bellamy felt his own anger rise at her obvious jab, just jaw tightening and clamping down on his immediate retort. He knew his sister though, and her anger, and he wasn't going to be bated by her into a pointless fight. He just sighed, looking down at his hands for a moment before looking up at her dark features, "O..." He started, tired of the tug-of-war that seemed to be between his sister and Clarke when it came to him.

"Why can't you let it go?" He finally asked, shifting the argument in another direction as he watched her face register confusion, and then flicker back to anger again.

Octavia set down her food and leaned towards him, hands on the counter as she did, "Because she's not worthy." She replied, her voice low and dangerous.

It was Bellamy's turn to be confused as he processed what she said, "Worthy? Worthy of what?" He asked, at a loss as to her train of thought.

" _YOU_ , big brother. She's not worthy of you and this devotion you seemed to blindly give her." She said, almost chastising him.

Bellamy raked his hands through his hair in frustration and then started to chuckle at her protectiveness over him and his heart, even after all they had been through. "God, O," He started, finally looking her with his lopsided grin. "Really? You want to go there?" He almost mocked her with his tone.

Octavia fumed, her anger right below the surface with no way to make herself feel better. It was why she was avoiding everyone and everything right now. She knew she was a powder-keg of emotion and she didn't know what to do with it, so she turned it on Bellamy.

"Yes, I want to go there. You always dismiss me when I _go there_." She said, nearly hissing at him as she strained not to be yelling at his as he smiled at her.

He got up and walked around the counter, pouring himself a cup of the hot spicy drink as he struggled with how to approach his sister. She was hurt, and angry and lashing out in any way possible. He wanted to tell her it was none of her business and to let it go, but he wanted her to talk, to engage with someone, anyone, and he knew he could weather her storm.

"Fine." He said turning and leveling a serious look at her, "Let's have it out then. Say what you want to say." He relented, almost managing to keep his own frustration at bay, but hearing the edge to his tone.

Octavia knew what he was doing, but she didn't care she needed to fight. "She has strung you along for years, and you keep going back. She left you to _die_ Bell! _To die_!" Her voice rose as she struggled to keep control over everything inside her.

Bellamy set his cup down and glared at her, her words finally causing his own bitterness to cut through the control he was showing, "And why was I to die O? Who put me in that pit to begin with?!" He growled at her, eyes flashing with the hurt of their past.

Octavia knew she had her fight, fair or not, and she grinned menacingly at him, "You made the choice to poison me. You're own _sister_!" And she cocked her head to the side daring him to dispute her words.

He clenched his jaw and pressed his lips into a thin line. She knew how to push him, how to play dirty and he was furious with her again for what she had did, who she had become within that bunker, and he knew it wasn't her fault and he took a deep breath, "You weren't my sister in that moment." He began slowly, eyes meeting hers, with such intensity it demanded her silence as her continued.

"You became someone, something else O, _Bloodrena_. And I didn't recognise the woman in front of me anymore, and she..." he stuttered shaking his head at the memory and stepped towards her, his look softening, "She scared me, and needed to be stopped." He finished, voice lowering, thick with emotion and regret.

The shift in his emotion struck Octavia and she was immediately flooded with regret for picking a fight with him, especially about Clarke. She knew the woman she was forced to become in the bunker was dark and horrible, and a product of the impossible choices that she had faced to keep Wonkru alive, and she hated how she had clung to that horror and seemed to revel in the power it had given her.

"I know she makes you happy." Octavia said quietly, unable to meet his hurt stare anymore and she let her hair fall over her face as she stared intently at her hands.

Bellamy sigh again, the last of his anger ebbing away at her words. "O..." He struggled for the words, "She's my best friend. I love her."

She lifted her head at his words, surprise clear on her face as he actually said it out loud after all this time. Then nodded slowly as if she was giving up on the fight, saying, "I know."

Bellamy stepped closer as he watched her fury melt away, leaving him with his sister again and he put a hand on her arm, "I love you too, you know." his voice cracking slightly on the words as he felt the bitterness and hurt toward her lift off him.

All Octavia could do was nod as she continued to stare at his hand on her arm, tears, springing to her eyes, her heart aching. A breath shuttered through her and she gave into the deep pain inside of her, in one step, closing the gap and wrapping her arms around her brother's waist, clinging to his strength as the tears flowed, damn broken.

Bellamy stood for a moment in shock as Octavia clung to him, before he registered the sobs that wracked her and hey wrapped his arms around her, feeling like she was so small in that moment in his arms and let her cry as he swallowed a lump in his throat as well.

They stayed like that for a few moments as he felt the sobs eased off and she was just sniffling before she moved away, leaving them both slightly awkward. She cleared her throat, wiping the last of the tears off her cheeks, "Um, well, it's late." She said, not meeting his gaze. "Better get back up to Clarke before she thinks you took off." She jabbed, adding a small smile.

"Huh." He chortled back at her attempt as humor and started to make his way to the stairs before stopping at the base. "Will you be here for breakfast?" He asked hopefully, raising an eyebrow in invitation to her as she paused.

She studied him for a minute before answering, she still had the desire to find her fight and get justice, but she knew it would come soon enough, "Yeah, I'll still be here." She finally said with a small smile.

Bellamy nodded and headed up the stairs, feeling a little more at ease knowing she was going to be there in the morning. He padded his way softly over to the bed, and slipped back under the cover, carefully easing back in beside Clarke's warmth, laying on his back.

Clarke rolled over, slipping under his arm, head on his chest, "All sorted?" She asked, voice heavy with sleep.

Bellamy leaned his head down, planting a kiss in her soft, blonde waves as she draped an arm over his waist. "Not completely, but better." He said, voice low and rumbling, as he closed his eyes.

Clarke felt his words vibrate softly against her cheek and she smiled as sleep started to take her again. She knew they had tried to keep their voices down, but she had heard what he had said to Octavia and she felt the warmth of his words spread through her as they had when he first said them.

She gave him a slight squeeze, "Get some sleep." She whispered, letting the sound of his breathing and gentle beating of his heart lull her back into sleep.

Karson groaned as he tried to get his shirt over his head without lifting his left arm to high. The silver nanite paste that they have been using to help heal his wound had made short work of the deep burn, but the muscles were still tight and tender, restricting his movements.

"Here, let me help you." A tentative but firm voice said from the doorway of his medical room. He had been staying in the healing bays so that the paste could be reapplied every few hours to aid in the initial healing, but today he was being allowed to go back to his own residence.

Echo strode into the room and gently helped him get his shirt over his head with a stoic look on her face. She had been coming each morning to check on him since he was sequestered to the healing bay as she found herself having a surprising level of anxiety over his recovery. Neither had made any attempt to address the fact that she was spending all her free time in the spare chair in his room, and she was silently thankful as she didn't want to look too deeply into why she was there.

"Thanks." He mumbled, slightly self-conscious that she was helping him dress and shifted his eyes to focus on putting away the few personal items in his pack, that had showed up at some point from his quarters. "Not sure who to thank for these." He said under his breath, stuffing clothes and toiletries on by one in the pack.

Echo shifted suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable as he kept his back to her, "Umm, I, um, grabbed them for you when we got back." She said quietly as he turned a little to toss her a surprised look. She schooled her emotions again and reached for the bag. "I got this, let's go before they decide to either keep you here or give away your residence to one of us newbies." She added, trying to lighten the mood a little, but failing miserably at a joke.

The caves were humid with the constant storms, the air sticky, making Echo's shirt seem to cling to her skin uncomfortably as they walked slowly towards Karson's residence in awkward silence. As, they rounded the corner, making their way up the edge of the cavern as Bran came out from one of the side paths, slightly out of breath.

"There you are." He said stopping them on their slow trek, "Archon wanted you at the meeting if you are feeling up to it?" He said, his eyes flicking to the bag in Echo's hand causing his eyebrow to raise a little before glancing back up to Karson.

Karson nodded shortly and glanced over at Echo, "Can you..." He started, glancing at the bag and she nodded, walking off at a brisk pace, leaving him with Bran.

They stood for a moment, watching her walk away and Bran cleared his throat as he looked over at Karson, "Huh..." He grunted, followed by a soft chuckle.

Karson turned his attention back to Bran with a questioning look, "What?" He asked watching the other man's eyes dance with humor.

"Oh, nothing. You wanna wait, or…." He said vaguely with a slight smirk on his face and a shake of his head at Karson.

Karson shot Bran a dirty look as he continued to chuckle and turned to start his slow trek back towards the meeting hall, knowing Echo would be more able to catch up before he got there. He scowled at his slow recovery know the coming battle with his father and feeling helpless to contribute. Instead he switched his self-pity to the man walking beside him.

"How are the kids settling in? Any word on Lise?" He asked as they walked.

Bran sighed, "Kids are okay. They love it here to be honest, but they are worried they will never see their mother again. And honestly, I'm starting to worry about that too." He said, fear coloring the last of his statement.

Karson frowned at the thought of his Father hurting so many with his twisted vision. "I'm sorry Bran. I really am." He said as if trying to apologise somehow for his Father's actions.

Bran stopped, turning towards the younger man and placed a supporting hand on his uninjured shoulder as he addressed his apology, "This is not your fault. I am very happy that you are alive and well and got my children to safety. I will owe you for that for the rest of my life."

Karson nodded solemnly at his words and continued to walk, hearing Echos quick steps crunching up the path behind them as they approached the meeting hall and continued in, taking their seats at the head of the hall beside Clarke, Bellamy and Madi.

When everyone had arrived in the hall, Archon called order to the room, and a stillness came over the room as Archon stood, lifting her hands to the crowd and closing her eyes. "Sh'Arj bal T'Owvie kholvader. Abe shalvi rhool va'ek kotsoe." She said in her usual blessing that started any sort of gathering. The words rolling smoothly over the group with a warm and welcoming tone.

Clarke had asked Karson after the very first meeting they were all at in the beginning, what the words meant and he explained that it basically translated as, 'they gathered in the spirit of their ancestors and hoped for guidance to find peace'.

Clarke rarely heard the T'Owvie speak in their own language but it was almost a purring sounding tone that had was chopped up in its pronunciation and she hoped with time she would be able to learn as she had with grounder. But for the time being she settled in for the meeting in her chair beside Karson, eyeing him carefully as she was amazed at his swift recovery.

Clarke had learned that, although Haven had a council, the community decided things as a whole in the end. On the rare occasion there had been opposition to a proposed idea, but for the most part, Clarke had realized that as a whole, most of Haven wanted to stand up and actively oppose Krass and the Colony, but they didn't have the means or the man power to actually do more than maintain their defenses or help others get out of the Colony.

It was decided that a small group would be heading out in two days to scout if Krass had started to move his forces in the direction of Haven or had begun to fortify the Colony's defenses. It was going to be a dangerous trek as the personal shields didn't have the power to last all the way to the Colony, and were dangerous to use in the electrically charged storms.

They eye of the current storm was to pass over in a beneficial path in two days but the group would have to navigate back as the storm ramped up again which added another level of danger to the proposed expedition. The council had tentatively decided on a small scout group already, but they put forth a request for any further willing volunteers so all could have an opportunity to contribute should they want to.

The room had gone silent at that point and business concluded with no other volunteers stepping forward, just in time of the power to flicker and short out as the storm had intensified during their meeting. Archon dismissed the group and all made their way slowly out to their own residences for evening meals, while Clarke and Bellamy lingered with Madi as Jordan approached.

"Clarke, I want to go." Jordan said trying to sound firm as he fidgeted nervously in front of the three sets of eyes that were on him.

"What do you mean, go?" Clarke said slowly, narrowing her eyes at his in scrutiny.

"On the scouting party. I want to go with the group." He said again, as firmly as he could, eyes flicking to Madi as she minutely shook her head at him.

Clarke scoffed, then caught herself as she saw the hurt flash across his face at her response, "Jordan," She started, shaking her head as she spoke and he cut her off.

"Come on Clarke, I can do this. I can help with this." He said, an edge of whine to his tone that caused Madi to frown even further.

Bellamy stepped across the gap and saved Clarke from the rebuke he knew was coming, "Jordan, we need you here for this one." He said gently. "We need your tech skills here to keep the communications going to get us back here safe."

Jordan's face fell at Bellamy's words, his head dropping in disappointment as Bellamy continued, "If it weren't for you and Shaw and Madi, Haven wouldn't have made it through these storms in such good shape. Even Archon told you so. We need that expertise to keep us connected out there. Okay?"

Jordan nodded, lifting his eyes to meet theirs, pride from Bellamy's comments edging through his disappointment. "Okay, but I'm not helpless. I can be out there with you guys." He insisted with a slightly stubborn tone and a look in his eye.

Clarke felt her chest constrict as she immediately recognized the set look in his eye and to his jaw that looked just the way Montey would when he got an idea in his head. Clarke smiled at him, "I know you want out, to be with everyone else, but for now, this is where we need you the most." Clarke said in the most encouraging tone she could.

Jordan nodded again as his gaze shifted back to Madi, "Hey, you want to come over for supper and go through that panel again?" He asked, looking over at Clarke for permission.

"Is that okay Clarke?" Madi said, her look of the Commander slipping away as her face brightened with the excitement of her age.

Clarke smiled, "Yeah, go ahead. Just let me know if it's going to be late." She said, her tone mothering as she bounded off with Jordan. It made her happy to see more moments of Madi's behavior acting her age than as the Commander that she could be. For now, Clarke was happy to let her enjoy that time, because in the next two days, they would be starting a battle.


	30. Chapter 30

Hey all! I am so sorry it has been so long since posting. Work has been...well, all consuming. Hopefully I can get back into the groove again as you all have been AMAZING and patient and stayed with me for 30 chapters now! Big mile stone of 25000 views too...unbelievably humbling! Hopefully I can keep up the story to your expectations! Keep up the reviews! If you are new and have read all the way through, let me know what you think! And for my regular reviewers...YOU ARE THE BEST! You push me to write more and more (aside from work and life taking my attention) Thanks!

 **Chapter XXX**

Octavia shifted slightly in her crouched position, only creating a slight relief to her cramped legs that had been increasing in their complaint over the last hour. Krass's camp was positioned only 30 feet from where she was crouched behind a log watching the sentry's come and go while taking note of their patterns.

The scouting party had left Haven two days ago, travelling with the eye of the storm, as it made its way towards the Colony. They only had a few more hours before the storm started to overtake their position again and she was antsy to catch site of Krass's location before she would be dragged away by the group. She had promised Bellamy, begrudgingly, that she wouldn't jeopardize the scouting mission by going after Krass on her own if they saw him, but she was so close she could almost taste the revenge.

His army's camp had been fortified to handle the storm, with each member decked out in some kind of personal armour that protected them from the worst of the what the storm could bring. It left Haven and their few, even more disadvantaged as to how, or where, they were going to engage in battle. Even with the fortification, it was obvious the camp was designed to pack up quickly and be totally portable, which meant they were going to get as close to Haven as they figured they could and then work out the exact location when they got there.

Octavia's right leg started to cramp up painfully to the point that she sighed in frustration. Three quick taps on her coms unit indicated she was heading back to the main group just before she moved while the guards were changing shifts.

"Anything new?" Madi asked as Octavia got back to their concealed camp. They had completely lucked out that Krass had stopped his hoard only a half kilometer from an old cave system that had been used as a safe house of sorts when smuggling people out of the Colony to Haven. It allowed them to be close enough to monitor, while keeping their presence hidden.

"No," Octavia said with a frustrated grunt as she tossed down her camouflage gear and grabbed a plate of food. The fast hike back had worked out most of the kinks she had gotten staying crouched down for almost 6 hours. "It looks like they are strapping in to this location for a little bit." She added around a mouthful of food.

Madi was standing behind a large table with a digital projection of a topographical map flickering across the top and a faraway look on her face as if she were in deep thought. She had taken on her Commander persona fairly quickly after leaving Haven, and was conferring more and more with the other Commanders as they tried to come up with a plan of attack.

Clarke was close by, as usual, with a concerned look on her face as studied the young girl as she formulated. Bellamy edged around the corner from where they set up communications and nodded a hello in Octavia's direction as he approached Madi.

"If we want to get a last signal to Haven, we better send it now." He said in his low, growly tone. His whole countenance has shifted when they had left Haven, as if he had tapped into a much darker side of himself, the longer they stayed away from the peace that they had.

Madi's eye seemed to focus and she looked up at Bellamy, "I think we have what we need. It's not safe to stay this close. We need some distance between us and them if we are going to make it back in the storm." She stated, looking around at the group for agreement.

It was more of a curtesy to ask for the others opinions, but everyone's heads bobbed up and down in agreement at they all were on edge from being so close to Krass's army as Madi walked around the edge of the table and leaned in towards Octavia. "Octavia, I think I have the starting of a plan, but I need Bloodrehna's thoughts on it before I present it to the group." She said in a hushed tone, as to not bring Clarke or Bellamy into things just yet.

Octavia's expression darkened at the mention of her other name, but her face remained impassive as she finished the last of her food. She gave the slightest twitching nod of her head in acknowledgement as she watched Clarke and Bellamy engrossed in a conversation over the map.

Using her finished meal as an excuse, Octavia slipped away with her plate to the side cave where there was a rudimentary kitchen of sorts set up. Within a few moments she could feel another presence as she washed up her plate and cleaned up.

"Am I to assume this plan isn't going to be received well by the others?" Octavia said turning to face Madi with a dark look.

Madi's brow furrowed in a scowl, "No, it definitely won't be." She said quietly more to herself than in answer to the question.

Octavia's mind chewed and worked over Madi's plan and the silence stretched between them, heavy with foreboding. She finally looked up into the girls face and studied it for a moment, "Clarke and Bellamy will never agree, but it seems like the best way." She said, her tone dead calm and low.

Madi sighed, her authoritative persona flickering for a moment before it smoothed back into place. Her heart was slamming in her chest and she knew there were many risky parts to their plan, but it was their best option given the resources Krass had at his disposal and their limited man power. "I already sent a message to Raven and she is onboard," She said, and added under her breath, "Shaw was less so, given the risk to her."

"I have to hand it to the Commanders, I don't think Bloodrhena would have gone in this direction, but I don't see any other way either." She said in a low tone as they heard voices walking by, then paused before she moved to leave. "Are you sure you want this on your soul? The weight is heavy." She asked, eyes flickering with inner pain as she did.

Madi smiled sadly, "I bare this so they don't have to." She said echoing Clarke's words from Mount Weather. Madi had never been able to understand the meaning of it when Clarke had told her the story, but she was starting to see just how painful meaning of the words were.

Octavia nodded solemnly and headed out of the cave to where the rest of the group was packing up, leaving Madi to inwardly find solace in what was about to happen with the other Commanders in her head.

Although it didn't take long for the group to pack up their equipment, they still ended up having to traverse some substantial distance while being battered by the back side of the storm. More than once they almost lost a member from a close lightning strike of falling branches from the tall trees being whipped around violently.

They had successfully managed to get within a kilometer of Haven when the group heard a distant rumbling coming from uphill of their position. Within seconds, crashing and snapping of brush was heard just before a section of the dense underbrush was violently trampled by fleeing animals causing everyone to dive out of the way, splitting up the group into two separate sections.

"What the HELLS was that?!" Shaw yelled over the wind to Bellamy as they were the closest to each other while everyone managed to get up and dust themselves off.

Bellamy had just opened his mouth to answer when a wave of mud, brush and water bust through the remaining foliage, cutting a wide path between the two sides of the group. Bellamy and Shaw were both knocked over, but Bellamy was at the edge of the water and managed to catch himself on a tree before he was swept away very far.

Clarke rushed over, helping him up as the water seemed to expand and loose it's force. He was soaked to the bone and had cuts to his pants where branches and underbrush had torn holes that showed small trickling spots of blood that were starting to stain his pants.

Everyone looked down the hill in horror just in time to have the wind catch a yell for help from Shaw that was abruptly cut off followed by a loud crash that shook the sopping earth under their feet.

"Oh my God Clarke!" Madi yelled over the wind and rain as time seemed to have stopped in the moment.

Clarke and Bellamy looked at each other, silently communicating. "I'm going down the hill, you take Madi and try to get the others across the water!" Clarke yelled snapping into action. She grabbed Bellamy's pack, spinning him around to grab the length of rope attached to his pack.

Madi grabbed Bellamy's hand and started to tug him as soon as Clarke got the rope off the pack, "Clarke, no! It's too dangerous!" He yelled, arm being stretched by Madi as he tried to stay rooted in the spot.

Clarke was already moving down the hill as fast and carefully as she could and stopped only briefly for a moment to yell back, "Bellamy, you are already hurt! Send Echo down with a scout as soon as you get them across. Now GO!"

Clarke turned and moved as quickly as she could. She wasn't going to lose Shaw and they didn't have time to argue. She had picked up as much speed going down the incline as she felt she could handle and had to scramble to a stop as she reached a dense section of brush that had a suddenly steep drop off on the other side that went down about 30 feet and her heart froze with fear as she inched to the edge, testing the dirt as she went and peered over the edge a few feet from where the water was pouring over in a steady flow.

There was broken branches and a mass of muddy debris in a pile at the bottom of the hill, but Clarke couldn't see Shaw as she rapidly scanned the pile when a flash caught her eye. There was a reflective scrap that looked like Shaw's pack under a large branch and a mass of leaves.

"Shaw!" Clarke screamed, knowing the wind was taking her voice over the small valley instead of down to the base.

Turning she searched for a sturdy tree near enough to the edge that she could repel down as she faintly caught her name.

"Clarke?" Shaw said weakly on the wind.

Scrambling to the edge again on her hands and knees, she searched the debris pile again, "Shaw?!" She screamed into the wind.

"Clarke? Arggg." Shaw yelled again, "Down here! I'm pinned!" He said sounding winded with pain lacing his tone.

Clarke leaned further over the edge and noticed how it scooping right under her where the water was pouring over a tree that was still secured by its roots, but was facing almost all the way upside down. Of on the far side, barely visible she finally made out Shaw's head just barely being held up on the far side of the log.

"Oh my gaud, Shaw! Are you okay?!" Clarke screamed trying to get closer to where the water was pouring, splashing the spot where he was holding on, and trying to keep his face in view.

"I'm pinned! I...uhhhh...slammed into...errg...the trunk...uuuffff...as it went...arrrg...over!" He yelled as he strained with the effort of holding himself up while getting pelted with the muddy water.

"Just hang on! I'm going to find a way...AHHHHHH!" Clarke's sentence was cut off as the edge under her hands crumbled and the top half of her body started to fall, her hands waving and grasping frantically on nothing but loose dirt and air.

She was jolted to a stop by her coat tightening across her chest, momentarily cutting off her scream as she felt herself being edged back. As soon as her hands hit solid dirt, she scrambled back allowing the air back into her lungs in huge gulps. Echo was on her knees beside her panting and muddy.

"You okay?" she said getting up as she peered over the edge.

"Yeah, thanks." Clarke said catching her breath for a moment before getting up. "Shaw is on the far side of the water. He's pinned there on a log, but I don't know how much longer he can hold himself up." She said scrambling up the steep bank a bit eyeing the steady stream of muddy and debris filled water.

"This way." Echo said with a firm look in her eyes, "The water goes under a log just up here, we can get to the other side." And they took off as fast as they could in the storm back up the hill.

They scrambled carefully across the slick log to the other sick and made their way back to the ledge, both completely drenched and muddy. From this angle Clarke could see that the tree had branches that had caught the dirt and jammed into the hill which is what caught him as the main trunk then crushed on top of him.

"Shaw! We are here!" Echo yelled, concern plain on her face as she inched as close as she dared to the edge analysing the position of the tree and surrounding area.

"There Clarke! She pointed to a tree just up the hill from where they were. It had about a one-foot diameter trunk which meant the root system would hold the weight of both Clarke and Shaw. They made quick work of anchoring their line as Clarke made a makeshift harness and cinched it tight around her waist. Echo braced herself in the opposite direction, with the rope wrapped around her waist, using the tree as a pully to handle the weight and she nodded as Clarke inched her way on hands and knees towards the edge.

Shaw was visibly shaking, with a desperate and wild look in his eyes as he spotted Clarke making her way towards him. "H-h-h-hur-r-r-ry up-p-p-p-p." He chattered out as he continued to be splattered with water and mud.

Clarke's face was a mask of concentrations as she tested each hold and perch as she made her way, painfully slowly towards Shaw while trying to keep her he features schooled to not show just how scared she really was.

It took almost 30 minutes by her estimation before she was able to dangle beside him, before finally finding a perch on another thick branch beside him. "It's okay, we will get you out." Clarke said, just happy she didn't have to yell at him anymore.

"M-m-m-my l-l-l-legs-s-s are p-p-p-pined-d-d-d." Shaw stuttered, his lips blue and face pale, causing Clarke to worry as to whether or not it was from blood loss or just the cold.

Clarke quickly took stock of the other cuts and abrasions she could see and was inwardly relieved that nothing seemed to serious. Edging to the side she was able to turn a little in the harness to peer under the main portion of the log and could see where his leg was trapped and almost laughed in relief.

A main branch had created a pocket just big enough to leave a little wiggle room for Shaw's thighs, but because of the position he ended up in, he didn't have the leverage to angle himself out. She swung around to face him and shield him a little from the mud spray formulating a plan.

"Okay, you are going to need to let go of the trunk." Clarke started, watching his eyes droop before she noticed he had stopped shivering. "SHAW!" She yelled causing his eyes to snap open.

"Yeah, okay. Clarke, I'm really tired" He said weakly as his hands started to slip, and his eyes started to flutter shut again.

"Shaw! Don't fall asleep! Grab on to me! NOW!" Clarke yelled, as she abandoned caution and let go of her hold on the branch to grab him in a bear hug, pushing off the branch in a straight lunge out into thin air, causing his legs to slide out of where they were trapped.

Clarke noticed a slight sound of tearing material as she locked her hands under his armpits as his full 'dead weight' hit her on the line. Suddenly they were swinging towards the ledge and smacked into the mud and roots of the tree, Clarke taking most of the force with a "Whoof!"

Clarke heard Echo yell from above, "I have him!" She yelled back at Echo's curses and she felt herself and Shaw be lifted in small steady jerks.

"Shaw! Wake up Shaw!" Clarke said with urgency as he started to slip from her grasp a little with each small jerk.

"I think you lost weight Raven." He mumbled in Clarke's ear, but thankfully she felt his arms tighten around her neck a little more.

"That's right, just hold on tight to me." Clarke said, slightly absent-mindedly as she looked up to the faster approaching ledge.

Clarke was baffled as to how Echo was managing to pull both her and Shaw up when her head poked over the ledge and she saw Bellamy, Madi and the rest of the group on the rope, pulling her the rest of the way.

As they slid over the muddy edge and landed in a pile, Clarke panted as relief flooded her, and she let go of a limp Shaw to Octavia and a T'Owvie scout. Madi and Bellamy were immediately on Clarke, pulling her further from the edge, Bellamy wrapping his arms around her tightly and Madi wiping the mud from her face over his shoulder.

"We need to get Shaw warm." Clarke said, batting away Madi's hands, her eyes meeting Octavia's. He gave a quick nod and started to direct others to get what he needed.

Clarke looked over to where Echo was collapsed at the base of the tree, rope still around her waist, her face a mask as she watched Bellamy hug her. Clarke mouthed a "Thank-you," to her and she nodded slowly before getting up and walking away to help Octavia.

Clarke pushed away from Bellamy a little, "I'm okay. We need to get Shaw to Haven." She said lightly, taking note of the worry in his eyes that he was trying to cover up.

Bellamy nodded, feeling his heart starting to slow down from seeing that she had gone over the edge to get Shaw. They had managed to get the group back across the water and down the hill just in time to see Echo take the full weight on the rope of both Shaw and Clarke, forcing her down in a seated position till she slid to the tree, her feet braced on the trunk, straining against the weight. Her eyes had been closed with the effort when they reached her, taking up the rope and beginning to pull. If they had been any longer, Echo wouldn't have been able to hold the weight much longer, and he didn't even want to think about that.

It didn't take long for them to get a make shift stretcher sorted for Shaw as Clarke gave him the once over to check for injuries as they wrapped blankets around him tightly, then were on thier way back to Haven.


	31. Chapter 31

**Again...sorry for the length of time between post. I can't seem to get ahead of massive changes at work and it leaves me drained to the point that I can't even find the words. So, thank you...thank you if u r still reading, and THANK YOU to the comments, they are literally what is fuelling my drive to write right now, so please...just take a few minutes to let me know ur thoughts so far, if u r new...y you kept reading, and if u keep coming back...well...I write for u guys, I TRUELY do!**

 **Ps...I still own nothing or I could quit my job...all rights to CW**

 **Chapter XXXI**

Shaw was rushed to the medical facility to be checked over with Clarke trailing closely behind as she wanted to assess him herself. He had started to come around just before they had made it to Haven, making sense again when he was asked questions. Bellamy followed closely behind her, not arguing like he normally would when she insistent that she check his cuts out too as if he didn't want to have her leave his sight.

Madi watched as they entered the medical facility together with a small, sad smile and turned to head towards the meeting center. She needed to talk to Archon about her plan, but wasn't in a huge hurry to do it, as she didn't know how it would go over with the leader of the generally passive people. She walked slowly, deciding to meander over to the edge of the gorge. The wind and rain were still coming down in sheets, whipping the vines and plants that clung desperately to the rock walls.

She stood back far enough not to get wet, but she could still see over the ledge to the churning, muddy water far below. It was swirling angry in a mesmerizing dance over the rocks in rolling waves as Madi stood watching it lost in her thoughts.

"So troubled child." A voice said softly at her elbow making Madi jump.

She turned to see Archon watching the water quietly, standing about a foot away from her and only an inch taller. She sighed and looked back at the water with a small frown, "I was actually coming to find you." Keeping her voice at the same quiet level as hers.

Madi saw Archon nod solemnly out of the corner of her eye, "Heavy weight, this war." She commented almost more to herself than to Madi.

The silence stretched out as they both stood watching the storm ravage the gorge, lost in their own thoughts. Finally Archon turned to Madi, "Come, Blessed. We talk." She said firmly and looped her arm through Madi's and leading her away from the meeting hall.

Madi opened her mouth momentarily, then shut it again as she let the older lady lead her away to her private residence. It would be better to be somewhere they could talk in private and not be overheard for the time being.

Echo trudged towards her apartment, exhausted to her core, covered in mud, feeling like every inch of her clothing was soaked through. She wanted a shower and a soft bed to sleep at least a few solid hours away. She rounded the last corner and ran smack into a solid wall of warm muscle with an indignant, "Oof!" Followed by a grumpy, "Watch where you're going." Before she looked up to see a relieved Karson.

"Oh, sorry." She mumbled looking back down with embarrassment to notice she had left a big, muddy, body print across the front of his chest.

Karson chuckled as he watched the, normally, confident woman fumble through her apology. He had been following all the transmissions with Jordon in the Coms room, while they were gone the whole time. He had been nearly beside himself when he heard them radio about the flash mudslide and coming back with some injured.

"It's all good," He continued to chuckle to hide his relief in finally seeing her in one piece, even covered in mud and muck as she was. "Everyone okay?" He asked suddenly at a loss.

"Yeah, I think Shaw will be okay." She said, starting to feel the tired ache through her whole body. She shifted her soaked pack and winced as a pain lanced through her side.

Fresh concern flashed across Karson's face, "Are _you_ okay?" He asked urgently, taking her pack from her and quickly scooping an arm around her waist as she faltered.

Echo shook her head, trying to push him away, "I'm fine, Karson." She hissed through clenched teeth and a murderous scowl.

His usually calm demeanour shifted and his face darkened, "Enough." He barked at her causing her to start at him in surprise. "You're hurt. Damnit, let someone take care of you." And he turned her around to go back to the healing center.

Echo closed her mouth as it had dropped open to argue and she allowed him to lead her back without further argument. She had felt a burn across her ribs since the sudden jerking weight of both Clarke and Shaw when they swung free of the tree. The rope had tightened and burned for what felt like an eternity before the others had found her and she had put the pain away, closing it off to the back of her mind until she had made her way back to her room. Fatigue and the intensity of the burning pain had finally gotten the best of her will as she had been talking to Karson.

As they came through the doors, Clarke's head snapped up from where she was assessing a large laceration on Shaw's leg. "Karson?!" She said with worry plain on her face after one look at Echo.

Bellamy appeared at Echo's other side, ducking under her arm, helping with her slowly slumping weight that Karson was supporting with his still healing arm, over to the nearest bed.

"I found her heading to her room, and she nearly collapsed." Karson said with a nod of thanks to Bellamy, as he rolled his newly healed shoulder as soon as he gently placed Echo's weight down on the bed.

For the first time since Clarke and Bellamy had started to work through their feelings and develop their relationship, Clarke found herself oddly at peace with Bellamy rushing to Echo's side. Since saving her and Shaw, they seemed to have worked passed things to a place of mutual respect for each other.

Clarke quickly assessed Echo head to toe stopping at her ribcage as Echo sucked a sharp breath in on Clarke's palpation. "Does that hurt?" She said , focusing in and lifting her shirt to the base of her bra.

"Oh my God, Echo." Karson breathed as Clarke lifted Echo's shirt to exposed an angry red line with deep purple bruising, about three inches wide, running the full circumference of her waist, where the rope had rubbed to a tight cinch around her.

Echo felt her vision start to narrow, circling smaller as a low, humming, buzz started to get louder and louder in her ears as she lay down on the bed. Karson's face hovered for a moment in the long tunnel, his voice echoing as if far away saying her name just before the black enveloped her and she lost consciousness.

"Echo? Echo!" Karson said urgently, hearing the panic in his voice as he reached out and smoothed her hair off her face as her eyes fluttered close.

Clarke's gaze flick to Bellamy as he watched Karson hover over Echo, relief in his eyes which surprised her. "Karson, she's just unconscious. It looks worse than it is, but she must be in a lot of pain. It's amazing she made it all the way back without anyone noticing she was hurt." Clarke said, placing a comforting hand on the large man's forearm.

One of the T'Owvie healers shuffled over and spoke in low tones with Clarke as they discussed options of care and covered her up with a blanket. Clarke finished and caught Bellamy's attention, "Can you go check on Madi? I will be here for a bit and she seemed a little quiet on the way back."

Bellamy nodded at her then shifted his attention back to Karson, "She's a fighter, so I'm sure she will be okay." He said quietly and with a final nod, turned to leave, knowing that she had someone there that would look after her. Giving Clarke a quick kiss on the temple, he headed out in search of Madi.

Madi felt drained in every sense of the word as she closed the door to their house and saw Octavia lounged on the couch, appearing to be asleep, with an arm draped over her eyes and the other on her knife hilt at her waist. It appeared she had changed at least before laying down on the couch, which was good as it seemed the mud and rain had covered every inch of each of them on the way back.

Madi felt grimy and shuffled to the bathroom, dumping her pack, unceremoniously beside her bed, taking note of the squishy, splooshing sound it made as it hit the floor. She wanted a shower and about a weeks worth of sleep as the conversation she had with Archon hadn't lasted long, but it had required all of her attention since Archon had such broken English. She mulled it over in her head as she turned the water on, letting it heat up.

She had been surprised that Archon had agreed with very little objections to her plan, once she had explained it and even agreed to be a party to keeping Clarke and Bellamy out of the loop as long as possible. The next few days were going to be hard on her as she had never lied to Clarke about anything before and she stepped into the shower, letting the water wash away any lingering doubts.

Bellamy came into the house to the sound of the water going in the shower and spotted Octavia on the couch fast asleep, hand on the hilt of her dagger. He walked slowly over, keeping out of arms length to be safe, and watched her for a moment. He could see faint traces of the young girl he hid beneath the floor so long ago on the ring, but her face had changed, and took on a harder look, even in the peaceful embrace of sleep and he felt a pang for her lost innocence.

"It's still creepy when you watch me sleep." She said quietly, while keeping her eyes closed.

Bellamy couldn't help himself as a low chuckle rose in his chest as he shook his head, sitting on the coffee table across from her. "Sorry. Some habits die hard." He answered back, with no real sincerity to his apology.

Octavia peaked a look at him, shifting her head a little to study him as he sobered, and was lost in his thoughts. She shifted, swinging her legs over the side of the couch, picking up the noise from the shower coming to a stop. "Something wrong, big brother?" She asked as she watched his face cloud over.

Bellamy looked up, realizing he had zoned out in his thoughts. Even with the looming battle with Krass, the storms, and trying to plan how to get everyone else to the surface, he had started to feel different, like there was light at the end of the tunnel for them all and it worried him. He didn't want to talk to his sister about it, so he schooled his features with a fake lopsided grin, "Nothing. When did Madi get here?" He asked instead deflecting.

Octavia pause, she knew he was lying, but their relationship had never been in a place where they could openly share their thoughts with each other. She shrugged, letting things be for the time being, "Not long before you. The kid needs rest though." She said getting up and heading to the kitchen.

She figured Madi had gone to see Archon about her plan, and would want some space from Bellamy and Clarke if she was going to pull it off without them interfering. "I assume Clarke will be a while." She stated more than asked as she got some fruit, meat and cheese out and started to prep two plates.

Bellamy nodded and sat on a stool on the other side of the counter as the door opened to the bathroom and Madi slipped out engulfed in a thick towel and shot a quick over at the siblings. He smiled lightly and noticed a troubled look pass quickly over her face before she smoothed her features.

"I'm going to bed," she said, heading into her room as quickly as she could without being suspicious, her eyes flicking to Octavia for a moment.

Bellamy stopped her, "Did you want Clarke to wake you when she gets home?" He offered, and studied her for a moment as she paused.

Madi shifted for a moment uncomfortable under Bellamy's gaze as she struggle to decide on an answer to his question, while standing in a towel. She felt like he could see right through her, but she knew she was over reacting, "Um, I'm pretty tired, and I don't know when she will get back, so maybe only if it's not to late?" She finally fumbled and ducked into her room.

Bellamy frowned, shaking his head as Octavia slid a plate of food in from of him, and he sighed, "I won't ever understand girls." He mumbled more to himself than to Octavia, his head snapping up as he heard a very uncharacteristic snort come from his sister.

Octavia shrugged at her humor towards his comment, and the moment passed between them as she cleared her throat and started to eat eyeing her brother every so often. "Bell, if I get a chance I am taking out Krass. You know that right?" She finally stated matter of factly.

Bellamy chewed slowly trying to think about how he wanted to approach her statement, then looked her in the eye, "O, I know that I won't be able to stop you, but I can't let you put yourself, or anyone else in a bad spot. Can we just agree on that?"

Octavia eyed him, this was the closest they had ever been to seeing eye to eye on anything in, well, forever. "I can agree to that." She finally conceded and they continued to eat in a much more comfortable silence.

Clarke felt exhausted as she dragged herself up the stairs in the quiet house after washing up in the washroom. Echo ended up needing some further assessments for her injuries which she fought and grumbled about the whole way through. Just when Clarke got her settled with the T'Owvie healers, Shaw ended up almost crashing on them and took the next three hours to stabilize. He was going to be okay, but it would take a few days for him to even get out back to his quarters. Clarke had stopped to send a message to Raven and had a hard time trying to keep the woman from just barreling down to the surface after hearing Shaw had been hurt.

After being away for days, the rescue and hike back she was bone tired and couldn't even remember how she managed to get home. She quietly undressed and slipped under the thin sheet with a small sigh of weary pleasure, causing Bellamy to stir, still half asleep, and pulled her into his arms, spooning against her back with a mumble.

He was warm against her and she felt the goosebumps shiver through her from where his heated body melded with hers, his face buried in the crook of her neck, his breathing slow and steady against her ear. She smiled, closing her eyes and relaxing against him as she heard his low rumbling tone in her ear, "Love you. Get some sleep."

Madi tossed and turned, only falling asleep for a couple hours at a time as the commanders seemed to take over her thoughts in planning the attack as they didn't have long to prepare. When she heard Clarke stumble in and eventually make her way upstairs, she knew she would be in the clear if she waited a little to make sure both her and Bellamy would be asleep. Getting up, she quietly got dressed and ready, only stopping in the kitchen briefly to grab some fruit from the counter before slipping out, and closing the door soundlessly behind her.

She made her way to the com's hub and slipped in, nodding to the T'Owvie half asleep at the controls. It was near the end of the night shift and it obviously had been a very quiet night for the worker as she took note of the multiple rings on the counter from different stimulant drink cups. She sat down at the controls and started typing out a urgent message to Raven, outlining what she needed her to do. She knew it wouldn't be a matter of _if_ Raven could complete the task but _how long_ , which could be a problem.

Once she finished composing, she hit the send and leaned the chair back a little to put her feet on the edge of the desk to wait. Knowing Raven, she would have some kind of alert system set up for incoming messages and would respond quickly. The soft, steady hum of the computer, and the lack of sleep, coupled with the long hike and stress of looking out for Krass's army had taken there toll and it wasn't long before her head was bobbing back, soft snores slipping out every so often.

Madi snapped awake as the computer alert binged, breaking into her shallow sleep state, causing her to nearly topple off the chair she was in. Blushing furiously with embarrassment at the amused look the T'Owvie tossed her way, she smiled tightly and brought up Raven's response.

Three days. Raven could be ready in three days. Three days to lie to Clarke and Bellamy. Three days till the end of the war. Typing back her confirmation and some final instructions to Raven her heart sank at what she had put in motion.

Ravens had to keep things quiet from Clarke and Bellamy too, which would be hard since she had a lot of work to do and still need to appear as if she was anxiously waiting by the radio to receive word on Shaw's condition. The commanders in her head where at a fever pitch volume, and she squeezed her eyes shut at the internal noise, rubbing her temples to relieve some pressure. Ravens confirmation binged it's alert and Madi deleted the threat carefully so no one would stumble across it, just as the day staff entered to relieve the dozing high staff.

Madi's stomach growled and she slipped out of the room, biting into the orange, pulpy fruit as she walked slowly towards Archon's private residence. The elderly leader wanted to know how long it would take for Raven to complete her mission so she could be ready for the fall out once it was announced.

This was going to be a very long three days. Madi thought as she approached the door, knocking softly.


	32. Chapter 32

**Hey all! New trailer dropped for season six a few days ago and HOLY...looks awesome! Seems my thoughts weren't very close to what the writers came up with, but...hopefully You a ll still stick around. I know there have been another huge gap since posting my last chapter. Work hasn't gotten any better lately, and since it pays the bills...anyways, here it is. I will be getting into the big stuff coming up here in the next few chapters and then will be looking to wrap it up. Please! Stick with me! And write me reviews, it's what keeps me going (Shinygoram thank you from the bottom of my heart *heart emoji*)**

Chapter XXXII

Clarke was starting to worry, while getting very suspicious as it had been two days now, and Madi had either secluded herself in her room or couldn't seem to be found outright. They had no plan against Krass's army other than fortifying Heaven's defences and Octavia seemed to be more than happy to help to defend. Clarke and Bellamy had talk about how things were better between the siblings and how she seemed to be settling in nicely in Haven, but she also knew Octavia's calm before the storm which showed itself when she killed Pike.

Bellamy told her she was being paranoid and clingy, which made her even more touchy as he was the ultimate pot calling the kettle black, since he attempted to murder Jaha just so that he could be near his sister to protect her. She knew something was going on, but she couldn't seem to corner Madi to confront her and she was done with it.

She had just finished a very early breakfast with Bellamy and decided, come hell or high water, she was going to find Madi and sort things out since she had taken off early again, avoiding any kind of eye contact on her way out. Stalking through the various paths she searched all the normal places that Madi would frequent, but after an hour of searching she decided to double back and check with Jordan again.

As she round the corner at the far end of the cavern she caught a glimpse of Madi walking slowly with Archon down the main walk that decided the Heaven's cavern in half. The two had their heads bent in low conversation as they walked slowly, which stopped Clarke dead in her tracks and caused a small shiver to work it's way up her spine.

She waited till they turned the corner and then hurried after the pair at a safe distance, occasionally catching the last echo of their voices, muffled by the ambient noise. She kept her pace as slow as she dared, as Archon was walking at her usual painfully slow gait, but as she rounded the last corner that opened up toward the meeting hall she turned the corner to find herself much closer than she intended as the pair had stopped.

"Clarke. Join us?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head in Clarke's direction as Madi seemed to shrink behind the small lady, avoiding her steady gaze.

Clarke approached slowly leveling Madi with the burning stare that only a parental figure could manage, then shifted her gaze to Archon, who's sympathetic gaze brought Clarke up short with concern.

"Archon," Clarke started carefully, studying the older patriarch. "Is there something you both would like to speak with me about?" She questioned with uncertainty.

"Yes, child. Not here. Get partner please?" She said, a small smile pulling as she requested Clarke to get Bellamy.

It struck Clarke for only for a fleeting moment, that there was no question as to who Archon was referring to, yet Clarke paused, her mouth opening to form her argument when she caught the look on Archon's face. It was hard, and firm, her eyes conveying that she would not waver from her request to wait to speak until Clarke and Bellamy were present.

She shut her mouth quickly and gave Archon a sharp nod, but before leaving she fixed Madi with a withering look. Madi's chin raised slightly as she straightened up and tapped into the other commanders authority, trying to bolster herself against the way Clarke's look made her feel.

Clarke turned on her heal to hide the flash of disappointment on her face that Madi would resort to 'pulling rank' by tapping into the commanders to face her, and trotted off to the house to get Bellamy. She was barely out of breath by the time she reached the house, and huffed only in disappointment that he wasn't to be seen immediately as she came in.

"Bellamy?" She hollered moving to the base of the stairs while she scanned the rest of the main level.

"Clarke? What's wrong?" Bellamy responded coming into view, hair still wet, and shirtless. He had lingered in the shower, taking advantage of an empty house and a seemingly never ending supply of hot water. He had just started to get dressed when he heard the door open and the tell tale tone to Clarke's voice.

"Archon wants to meet with us, now. She's with Madi." Clarke said, eyes lingering on his bare chest dispute herself for a brief moment.

Bellamy disappeared momentarily before coming back with a shirt in his hands, which he pulled on while descending the stairs, all traces of his shuttle injuries finally gone. He caught the look on Clarke s face immediately and scowled, "Clarke," he started while pulling on his boots, "You have that look. What's wrong?" He said encouragingly.

Clarke shook her head as she watched him finish with his boots and stand up. She shook her head as she opened the door for them both. "I don't know. All I know is Archon wouldn't go into it without both of us present." She said, face troubled as her mind tumbled over the conversation and tried to come up with some kind of explanation.

They made their way in silence to the meeting hall, to where Clarke only assumed they had gone, but they found it empty. Bellamy looked to Clarke questioningly, and she moved in the direction of Archon's residence, her mood slowly getting darker with each step.

Bellamy knocked softly on Archon's door, only the have Madi open it a moment later to their surprise. She let them in and made herself comfortable on an overstuffed couch beside Archon, leaving two chairs for Bellamy and Clarke, directly across from her, open.

"Okay Madi, what's going on?" Clarke asked the moment she was sitting, and ignored the slight twitch of humor on Archon's lips.

Madi took a breath, then leveled Bellamy and Clarke with her full commanders personal locked in place in her posture and features. "I have found a way to end the conflict in a swift and decisive manor, with no loss of life to our side." She said bluntly and without hesitation, while Clarke and Bellamy sat stunned for a moment, mouths slightly open in disbelief of her words.

Bellamy was the first to find his voice, "How?" He asked slowly starting to feel the ominous dread creep up his spine.

"How, now done." Archon responded first, then added, "When, on us now." She said as Clarke still gasped at the pair, seemingly at a loss.

"What do u mean now? Madi? What did you do?!" Clarke demanded in an eerily calm, low tone as she gripped her hands together sensing there was way more to this yet that she wasn't going to like.

"In a few hours the drill alarms will go off in Haven. Everyone will move to the tunnels for safety." Madi started firmly.

"Safety from what?" Bellamy asked tentatively.

"They will be told it will be Krass's army closing in. But it will be a precaution for what's to come." Madi said, finally having a small flicker of emotion peak through her commanders persona as her voice faltered momentarily.

"At 0500, Raven will launch a missile from Eligis, aimed at Krass's camped army." Madi said, dropping the words as if they were their her own bomb in the room.

"Madi, oh, God, No!" Clarke said at the same time Bellamy said, "You can't!" And Archon held her hands up to silence both of their continued, overlapping protests.

"Weighs on us. This decision not easy." Archon said sadly as Clarke started at her with open contempt.

"Was this your plan all along? To invite us here, make us feel comfortable and welcomed, and get us to take out your enemy? Oh, my GOD! How could I have been so stupid?!" Clarke said, her voice inching up in volume as she stood and started to pace, raking her hands through her hair as she did.

"Clarke, stop!" Madi said forcefully, causing Clarke's head to whip around, focusing all her anger in one place.

"And you! I taught you better, to be better! The commanders are influencing you into doing this aren't they?!" Clarke continued headless of Madi's demand for her to stop, and she continued to pace.

Bellamy had leaned forward, face dark and stormy, as his hair curtained his eye from view. He ran through everything that had been said slowly in his head as Clarke ranted and paced, her voice seeming like it was far away as he thought.

"What did Raven use as a bomb." He finally said quietly, raising his head to look at Madi and feeling Clarke's hostile glare shifted to his back

"Bellamy, you can't be serious?!" Was all she said in breathy anger.

Madi together gaze from Clarke and looked to Bellamy, eyes bright with suppressed, hurt tears and she blinked a few times before answering, "Raven has modified one of the hethilodium rockets and created a less, how did she put it…..life obliterating, version of a bomb with some rocket fuel."

"Are you seriously doing this?!" Clarke demanded shifting her gaze to each of them slowly, ending on Bellamy as he turned to look up as her.

"Clarke," he started quietly as she shook her head at him, tears brimming, showing her hurt and disappointment.

"Be better. Do better!" she hissed at him as her hurt and angry tears started to roll down her cheek.

Bellamy's heart broke at her pain and he stood, reaching out to grasp her hands, "Clarke, please." He whispered softly, his voice pleading.

She snatched her hands away and turned to bolt out the door, but Archon's hand snaked out and clamped down on her wrist as she passed. "Wait, Child." She said simply, while the firmness held such weight that it would have been enough to stop Clarke in her tracks even if she wasn't holding her wrist to prevent her from leaving.

Clarke slowly inched back till she faced the older woman, tears freely running down her face. "We can't do this again. I can't be a part of this." She whispered, almost pleading with Archon.

Madi shifted so she was sitting right beside Archon and looked up at Clarke, "We will bare it so you don't have to." And Clarke collapsed in the chair across from the pair, burying her face in her hands, tears freely flowing at the echoing pain of the word Madi repeated.

"Is there any other way?" Bellamy asked, knowing all to well that there wasn't one that they had been able to come up with that would minimize the losses to Haven's people in all of the meetings and counsel's they had, not to mention his private conversations with Clarke in the dark of night while they couldn't sleep.

"Grievous our plan. My people and his we save. Peace result, I hope." Archon said softly and reached out to run a comforting, withered hand over Clarke's hair.

Clarke's mind tumbled through every possible scenario, but in the end, as her tears slowed, she came to the same conclusion that they had presented, which meant, despite her best efforts they would become Oppenheimer, yet again.

They had sat and discussed the rest of the plan for a little more than an hour more before Archon advised them, they should go and get a few things together to prepare for when the alarm when off. She had shuffled to the door seeming to have aged 10 years while they had talked, before offering each of them a comforting smile in parting before closing the door between them.

Clarke, Bellamy and Madi walked the short distance back to their house in silence, each wrapped up in processing the last couple hours of conversation. Once in their house, Clarke turned and enveloped Madi in a rib crushing hug, fresh tears, trailing slowly down her face as she buried her face in the girl's hair.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry you had to be the one to come up with this plan. That you felt you needed to keep this from me to, somehow protect me." Clarke said rapidly, words muffled in Madi's hair and she clung to her.

Bellamy ducked his head, feeling slightly awkward at such a loving moment between the two. He lightly touched Clarke on her back as a show of support and slipped away to let the two work things out in private, making his way up the stairs to the loft.

"I'm sorry too Clarke." Madi hiccupped softly, her commander's façade cracking and falling away as the weight of Clarkes disappointment and her apology finally worked its way past her defences. She moved back to reveal her tears to Clarke as she added, "I didn't want you to have to be responsible for another bomb and what it would mean. You, and Bellamy have given up so much of yourselves to save your people. It's enough. You have done enough." And she crashed into Clarke again for another hug.

"Oh, Madi..." Clarke trailed off, hugging her in earnest again. "It's not your job to protect me." She added, as her tears dried and she moved away from Madi, smoothing the hair away from her face to look her in the eye. "I love you my little Natblida. Go get a few things together that wouldn't draw attention to yourself." She said smiling tenderly.

Madi nodded, turning slowly and heading to her room as Clarke sighed, hands raking through her hair, before she went up the steps. Bellamy was sitting on the edge of the bed, but stood as soon as she was in arms reach, a cautious look on his face.

Clarke just kept walking, right into him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and breathing the scent on him in as she felt his heart calming her against his cheek. She felt him tentatively wrap his arms around her before taking a deep breath and burying his face in her hair, one had slipping to the nape of her neck, smoothing the hair there.

"I'm so sorry Clarke." She more felt, than she heard the words as his low, soft tone rumbled against her cheek. She reluctantly moved away and cupped his cheek in her hand, catching his eyes and holding his stare.

"You have nothing to apologise for. You were using this." Clarke said with a small smile, hear eyes flicking up to his head as her finger tapped his temple softly.

Bellamy chuckled softly and nodded his head in agreement, relief washing over him after the look of betrayal she had given him at Archon's. He knew Madi's plan was what was needed, but it had been hard for Clarke to hear him side so quickly with her on it. Now that she had some time to process things, she could see the situation much more objectively.

"I'm sorry I got so mad at you. I shouldn't have. It wasn't fair." Clarke said hanging her head as she apologised.

Bellamy sighed and lifted her chin, "I'm learning Momma Bear kind of takes over some times." He said and leaned down, planting a kiss on her forehead.


	33. Chapter 33

**Hey all. I am very sorry for the last lag in story. I have been watching the new season and yet again work and life seems to conspire against me. The story is almost wrapped and I am pretty happy. I will have one more chapter yet. So...THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who took time to read, took a moment to click follow, and favorite. A HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed as well. This has been an AMAZING story experience. I have been formulating an original, so if you like my writing...and hopefully after 33 chapters you do...please keep an eye out for it in the near future. LOVE TO ALL THE READERS AND WRITERS! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter XXXIII**

The evacuation to the tunnels went quite smoothly considering the T'Owvie had only done a handful of drills in Haven since setting up the emergency system alarms. People had filed into the tunnels and large meeting areas quietly with few questions leaving Octavia, Bellamy, Clarke, Madi and Archon in the communications hub, watching a countdown.

The tension in the small, screen filled room was so high that everyone was on edge, including, the usually calm, Archon. As the minutes ticked by, Clarke moved behind Madi and put an arm around the girl as a show of support and it wasn't long before Bellamy and Octavia had both positioned themselves behind the pair, Octavia placing a firm hand on Madi's shoulder, while Bellamy placed a hand on Clarke's.

In the last few seconds, Madi looked up at the other three, with hesitation in her eyes. She felt Clarke tighten her grip, as the Blake siblings nodded solemnly together in unison indicating they were with her, and her resolve hardened, as the clock counted, five, four, three, two, one.

Within moments, the computer tone indicated a communication from Raven that the missile was away and tracking through the atmosphere, and Octavia slipped out quietly as the others discussed the fall out and time to impact. She knew she needed to move quickly to get to a vantage point that she had picked out as soon as Madi told her the plan. If she couldn't be the one to end Krass's life, she wanted to see the moment with her own eyes.

She moved quickly out through the path opening that was just out of view of the cameras, as to not alert Bellamy of her exit as he was in the hub. She didn't want him rushing to her side for fear that she would be in danger by the blast. The wind was whipping the branches around her as she made her way along the narrow path avoiding fallen branches as the rain pelted down on her, stinging any exposed skin like little needle points, but Octavia ignored it all.

Coming around the base of a large tree she saw the crest of the hill, and she picked up her pace as she saw the slight reflection off the heat panels on the rocket as it broke through the clouds. Panting she made it to the top of the hill overlooking a valley where the camp was off in the distance. The camp's, tents small pops of billowing colors in the undulating green sea of foliage, seemingly unaware of the horror descending on them.

She was breathing heavily as she reached the vantage point, she had figured would be safe, just in time to hear the tell tail rumble of the missile start to roar over the sound of the storm. Time seemed to pause for a split second as the earth itself to a collective breath and she heard her own intake of breath and two beats of her heart before the flash and fiery explosion rocked the valley far below. Within seconds the concussion wave hit her like a wall, knocking her breath from her lungs in a bone shuddering hit, but she kept her feet and watched the flames rise up in a plume, the wind carrying the roar of it to her ears and she shut her eyes, listening to the storm and sound of the explosion.

Retribution was finally achieved in that moment of fire and fury, and Octavia couldn't help but have a small victorious smile creep slowly in place, her eyes still closed just listening, and that's when she heard it. The faint shout in the distance of men's voices and her eyes flew open as she crouched down, and scanned the valley when she spotted a flash of movement in the undulating brush of the valley just barely within her vision distance.

Octavia squinted as she tried to track where she had seen the movement when she caught the telltale shapes of a small group of men yelling and making their way towards where the missile had impacted and left the camp a burning husk at the far end of the valley.

She shot forward through the trees, silently making her way to flank the group and make up the distance between them so she could finish what the fire had started.

Bellamy realized a few moments after that Octavia was gone and searched the monitors for any sign of her as Madi and Archon were in deep discussion while they worked on getting images from the missile hit.

"Damnit O." Bellamy swore under his breath as he flipped through different feeds to see where she went.

"There Bellamy, on the valley ridge exit." Clarke said, her hand shooting out past the side of his head to point out which screen she had seen Octavia on and they quickly flipped through the feed to find what Clarke caught.

"Madi, will she be safe at the top of that ridge?!" Bellamy barked quickly, eyes not leaving the screen as to replayed Octavia slipping out past the camera and making her way steadily out of view of the camera.

Madi's face darkened a little and her eyes flicked to Clarke's for a split second, but it was all Bellamy needed.

"Fuck!" He snapped, grabbing a pack that they had stashed in case they needed it and shot out of the hub.

"Bellamy! Wait!" Clarke hollered, torn as to if she should follow Bellamy or stay with Madi.

"Go, child. She safe." Archon said with urgency as she laid a hand on Madi's shoulders to indicate that she would look after Madi.

Clarke hesitated a moment longer, locking eyes with Madi, "Go Clarke." She nodded and Clarke took off, snatching another pack on her way out with a radio receiver, just in case the storm cleared enough they could use it.

Octavia finally managed to make her way close enough to the group she spotted to start to hear their voices and make out faces, and in that moment her heart dropped. Krass stood in a group of five men, that Octavia recognized as his personal guard, barking orders and demanding answers for what they had witnessed.

"I want them _FOUND_!" he roared to the men around him as they hustled to make themselves look busy, even though there was nothing they could do at the moment to calm his fury.

Octavia snarled and held herself back from charging in to the small clearing where the men where. She was out matched in size and weaponry, and she knew it, so she sat back and thought things through slowly. Her lessons from Indra and Lincoln running though her head slowly, painfully, as she devised a plan of attack to extract her revenge on this man.

She needed to thin out his group and slowly pick them off one by one if she was going to have a chance to finally be the one to make Krass pay for what he did to her and Indra, so she crept away to set up her traps.

She moved slowly and methodically, picking her path carefully and setting up the types of homemade traps Lincoln had shown her for hunting so long ago, using the forest as her weapons and cover. She started by binding two of her knives strapped to a young sapling that was waving and bending in the storms wind, and she secured it to snap forward, to the upper chest level for her intended targets.

She moved quickly trying to make three of the most lethal traps in the least amount of time while staying close enough to where the men had stopped that she could tell if they broke their position soon that she had hoped. She only needed to take out half with the traps, and that would lead the others as bait to be picked off, and then, she would finally have Krass.

She finished up, thankful that the wind was starting to ease off, and the rain was starting again as she muddied her hands and covered her pale skin as the light was just starting to sink away in the late afternoon.

Octavia neared where Krass and his men were still trying to figure out what to do next, Krass's voice booming over the wind, still obviously irate at the loss of his entire army. She inched closer, keeping low and as she watched her enemy, she drew her sword across her palm, feeling the burning bite of the blade and the heat of her blood pooling in her cupped hand. She brought her hands together, covering both palms with her blood and wiped them across her forehead, fingers trailing down both cheeks as her eyes hardened with purpose.

Moving, so that she was right in line with her chosen path she stood, feeling the strength of Bloodreina fortify her resolve and she yelled, " _KRASS_!" and watched all the men freeze and turn in her direction.

"There is no one coming to save you." She added over the wind of the storm, making sure all knew what direction her voice was coming from before she moved, slowly so they could see her.

Krass squinted at the movement between the trees and caught a shape of a person standing with a sword and he smiled, and sadistic laugh bubbling up loudly as he through his head back to the sky, causing his men to cautiously take a step away from him looking nervously between him and the person in the trees.

"Octavia! _FINALLY_!" he roared with his laughter and snarled in her direction, "Such a pity to waste such a perfect example of genetics. _END HER_!" He bellowed the final order, causing his men to jump and snap to attention as they raised their weapons to the empty spot where she had been and froze, looking to their leader for direction.

Krass rolled his eyes with exasperation, "Don't just stand there, go get her and bring her to me!" he barked his orders and took the safety off his weapon as he followed.

Octavia dodged and weaved through the foliage, leaving just enough distance between her and Krass's guard that they could see her, but not get a clean shot. She led then to the first trap and ducked into a hollow of a tree, closing her eyes for a moment to focus on calming her breathing as they neared in a typical spread out pattern, slowing when she was gone from their vision.

She heard the first soldier approach, and watched him pass her position, waiting for her trap to go off. As she planned, she heard his muffled holler over the wind and felt the slight vibration in the earth as he collapsed near her hiding spot.

Creeping out, she moved low, seeing the fallen man's gaze catch hers momentarily and he desperately clutched at his chest where two wounds were creating ever growing pools of blood across the front of his thin jacket. She paused briefly, head tilting to the side as she watched the life slowly leave his eyes, before she moved on, shoving the inward pain to the back of her mind.

It was a short crouching sprint to make it to her next hiding spot, and she listened for the men yelling, to find their fallen comrade while they made their way forward to track her down for Krass. The next man moved into line of sight and she shifted her position to move up the hollow trunk to get higher ground while staying in the shadows and slowed her breathing as he neared.

His weapon appeared first in in her vision of the hollow trunk she had wedged herself in, and he walked cautiously forward, slowly, stepping carefully as he went, scanning the trees in front of him, not knowing his death was awaiting him in the tree beside him.

He turned his head to the side, almost sensing a presence, just as he came fully in view and Octavia struck like a viper. Her sword flashing for a moment in the dying light, reflecting in his eyes as she thrusted through his neck in one clean movement. He dropped silently to the damp earth as she jerked back her blade, blood slick and dripping to the ground.

Stepping over the body she moved quickly just as the tree next to head exploded in a shower of sparks, knocking her to her feet. She rolled under some cover, shaking her head to clear the ringing and dizziness that momentarily stunned her before the felling cleared and the caught the approaching yells of Krass and his remaining men.

Octavia manage to make it under another rotted log just in time to hide herself as she panted, trying to ease her breathing and focus on the next target, knowing the wind would cover most of the noises she may make as she gulped for air as the heavy foot falls thudded passed where she lay.

Two down, only three between her and her target, and she snarled again, rolling out from her spot and flanking the men in silence to steer them back to her path. They had gotten smart to her plan and were staying close to each other now, causing her to frown with frustration just before movement up on the ridge caught all of their attention.

"There!" Krass barked at his men, "You, that way, you go around the other way, you with me!" He issued his orders curtly and sharply as the men glanced at each other questioningly.

"Sir? How did she get up there so fast?" One of the men dared to question, voicing his concern over the wind loud enough for Octavia to pick up the uncertainty in his voice.

"Just follow my command you idiot and try not to damage her so much that she won't be useful to our cause!" He yelled, face reddening and veins popping out in his neck as his guard's insolence.

A shiver of disgust crawled up Octavia's spine momentarily blinding her with hate before she realized that the movement, they were tracking must be Bellamy, as he would gone after her when he noticed she was gone. Cursing she darted off to cut around and beat the first guard up the hill as he tried to come up behind Bellamy.

Bellamy followed Clarke as she tried her best to track Octavia through the woods until they completely lost her trail and decided to make their way across the ridge to have a better view above the smoke that was settling in the valley. The rain had finally slowed to an almost spitting mist, but the wind continued to batter them, making progress slow as it seemed to pick up speed at the top of the ridge.

Bellamy raked a hand through his soaked hair, pulling it off his face and scowling down the hill to the base of the valley when he caught a quick movement in the foggy brush.

"Clarke!" He yelled over the wind, and pointed down the hill when she turned with a questioning look, and then followed the direction of his finger pointing and squinted.

A few yards from the first movement, Clarke caught a flash of a shape through the trees that seemed to be human, but to large and she snapped her head up to Bellamy.

"Oh my God, Bellamy. Someone survived." She said over the wind, subconsciously drawing a little closer to Bellamy as she said the words, the sense of dread spreading done the back of her neck.

Bellamy quickly crouched down, hand on Clarke's shoulder protectively, having the brush in front of them hide their glaringly white skin from view, which was what caught their attention for the others. He leaned in close so he wouldn't have to yell, "We need to find a better place than this." He said as he pulled out his knife while Clarke pulled out her sword.

As he stood to turn, Bellamy had just enough time to block a small boulder-sized fist as it swung to connect with deadly force to his head. The force wasn't deflected much though and he felt himself lift off his feet, to land in the brush and start to tumble down the ridge hill before coming to a jarring stop at the base of a tree trunk with enough force that caused his newly healed ribs to scream in protest, while the air was forced out of his lungs.

He could barely make out Clarke's yell as his head swam with pain and dizziness from the blow, and roll down the hill. He forced himself up on his elbow just enough to see Clarke swinging and blocking blows with an elegant flurry before taking a hit to the jaw that dropped her like a stone.

Bellamy bellowed and stood, charging up the hill as the guard laughed and signaled him to, "bring it on", with his hands. He had lost his knife in his fall, but was able to snatch up Clarke's tossed sword as he crested the ridge, panting in a show off with the large guard.

The guard pulled out a baton form his belt and extended it with a sick grin as they moved in a small circle, Bellamy eyeing up the guard's movements carefully. He faked to the right and swung hoping to catch the guard off balance, but instead his sword met the baton with a metalic clang in the wind.

The vibration rattled his grip and up his arm as Bellamy rotated his stance, bringing the sword back around in a low strike as he dropped to his knees, and finally connecting with the guards left leg, causing him to drop to his knees in a howl of pain, while he continued his turn back the other way fluidly, like he had done countless times training on the ring, and barley felt the blade meet the soft flesh of the guard's neck as it cleanly passed through the front, finishing his angled strike with the sword at his right side.

The guard's eyes popped open as his hand grasped at his neck, mouthing wordless cries, before he slumped to the ground, blood pooling in the dirt as the life left his eyes. Bellamy huffed out a breath and turned to where Clarke lay and rushed over to her, pulling her head in his lap to inspect the ugly red mark that was already swelling on the left side of her cheek.

Clarke's eye fluttered momentarily, just as Bellamy caught movement out of the corner of his eye from the opposite direction the other guard had come from. He gently placed Clarke's head back down and stood, sword at the ready as the guard charged, raising his energy weapon as he did.

Bellamy's face registered the shock, just before he dodged to the side, with just enough time to feel the heat of the bolt sear past the left side of his cheek. It was hot enough to sting and he figured a good portion of his hair had most likely been singed away as his dove, and caused his ribs another crashing blow, hitting the dirt and rolling to the side and back up to a defensive crouch.

The guard had closed the distance and was swinging his weapon around again to take another shot at Bellamy at point blank range, but Bellamy closed the gap, using the hilt of the sword to knock the guard's hand to the side along with the gun, but he underestimated the recovery of the guard. The guard's fist connected with Bellamy's ribs with a crushing blow to his right side. If it had been his left, his ribs would have buckled instantly being freshly healed, but his right was uninjured. He could still feel the blinding pain and heard a sickening popping sound as the air rushed out of his lungs and he twisted to his right, naturally protecting the hit side while dropping to his knees.

Bellamy raised his head in final defiance, as the guard smiled, baring his weapon at Bellamy's chest for the final, fatal blow, but it never came, as a cry pierced the wind of the storm as Octavia thrust her sword through the guard's midsection. The guard's eyes widened in surprise as he looked down at the sword before slumping forward as Octavia let the dead weight remove her blade in a sickly motion.

She stood over the body, looking down at it and Bellamy, while he regarded his sister's blood painted face. No words could express his tumbling thoughts as he watched Bloodreina snarl at the dead guard and move forward in a protective stance as he got up slowly, wincing at the pain to his ribs.

He opened his mouth as she turned to him just as a flashing energy bolt sizzled between them and they both dove for cover, Bellamy in the direction of Clarke's, still unconscious body. He grabbed her in a tight hugged and rolled them both under a log and brush, hiding them both effectively as Krass and his final guard crested fully around a large tree trunk.

Octavia was still in the open, arm stinging and an angry red color from where the energy bolt had just clipped her. She was lucky that it had been her left arm, as she still held her sword in the right and could still be deadly. Looking up, she saw the guard round the tree trunk first, weapon raised with Krass shortly behind, with his own weapon.

Octavia didn't even think and she spun to her side, snatching the last knife in her belt and whipping it at the pair with deadly force, taking both large men by surprise. The knife struck home in small space above the guard's weapon and his chin, causing Krass to duck around another tree truck as the poor man sunk to the ground with a gurgling sound.

Octavia was left with just her sword, panting, as Krass rounded the trunk cautiously, while she managed to find cover behind another fallen log. Her mind raced as she assessed the situation and peaked over to where she could see Bellamy assessing a, still unconscious Clarke, cradled in his arms.

"Octavia!" Bellowed Krass from his hiding place as he checked his weapon and swore to himself. The energy cell was almost depleted leaving him only two shots left. With every encounter with this girl, he wanted her more and more and didn't want to have to damage such a perfect genetic specimen.

"Come now. Can't we work this out between the two of us?" He yelled, certain he could still get the upper hand in this situation. She was obviously leaving him for last.

Octavia snarled and calmed her breathing, gauging where he was by the sound of his voice, and she moved slowly around the far side of the fallen log, inching her way soundlessly to flank where she figured he was hiding, tossing a quick look to Bellamy who was staring at her with eyes full of worry, shaking his head to tell her not to go after Krass.

Bellamy watched Octavia's eyes harden as the persona of Bloodrehna hardened her features, and he knew that she was lost in the hunt of her revenge. Clarke stirred in his arms, a soft moan escaping her lips and he turned to see her eyes fluttering open to meet his.

"Shhhhh, you're safe." He whispered, pleading she would catch his whispering as a sign she should remain quiet.

Shifting slightly, Clarke grimaced and moved her hand to her swelling cheek and jaw as the pain laced through to her teeth as she took note of how Bellamy covered her protectively and remained tense, scanning the brush in front of their hiding place. She finally came around enough to register the angry red burn across Bellamy's cheek and ear, that had singed away his dark curls to a matted mess just above his ear.

Clarke heard foot falls approaching and they both stilled as a pair of boots moved into view from where they were hidden under their rotted out log. Clarke felt Bellamy instinctively shift his body slightly covering her protectively as the heavy boots crunched through the thick foliage near them, and Clarke heard Krass's deep voice boom from above.

"Stop this foolishness and show yourself!" Krass bellowed into the smoke and forest just before there was a snap of a twig and battle cry from the opposite side of the log where Krass stood.

Octavia launched off of the perch where she had quietly situated herself as Krass searched the gathering smoke for her, Bellamy and Clarke. He was so close to the other two that she had no choice but to attack as she feared he would find where Bellamy shielded Clarke. She swung her sword down in a fluid arc towards Krass's shoulder, using the momentum and force of her jump to increase the force of her blow, but Krass turned just in time.

His face registered the shock of her incoming attack, as he raised his energy gun just fast enough to block her sword for impacting in the soft hollow of his neck and shoulder, causing a shower of sparks, metal and plastic to explode as the two weapons met with teeth rattling force. Octavia followed her momentum through the decent, rolling off to the one side away from the log that sheltered her brother and Clarke, and landed in a crouch, mouth in a snarl as Krass stumbled back, cuts from the shattering weapon instantly starting to bleed across the left side of his exposed neck and face.

Krass's face contorted with fury and he tossed, the now useless, weapon to the dirt right in front of Bellamy's face, cause both him and Clarke to flinch as they were sprayed with dirt and dead foliage.

"I had hoped you would see sense, but I see that I will need to take you in whatever state I can manage." Krass hissed threateningly as he drew his own knife from its holster on his belt with his uninjured right hand, gripping the hilt with the blade pointing down to the ground and adopting a defensive stance.

"You will pay for what you have done," Octavia growled out in a low tone, voice dripping with vemon and hatred. "Blood will have blood." And she lunged at him, deftly and he blocked and parried with what seemed like minimal effort.

Time seemed to slow as Octavia parried and struck out at the target of her hatred, but she seemed to gain no ground and couldn't seem to land a single strike as the smoke seemed to slowly get thicker, causing her throat to burn and her eyes to sting as her body screamed at her for reprieve.

Suddenly Krass stumbled slightly as his foot struck a fallen branch as he twisted out of the way and Octavia twisted in an almost impossible way to shift her balance and bring the sword up in an arc, catching the large man with the end of the swore from his left hip up to his chest on the opposite side. She was rewarded with his guttural howl of pain and the distinct sensation of the blade meeting the resistance of cloth and flesh as he stumbled back clutching the wound as it started to bleed.

The maneuver cost her balance though, as she twisted and fell to the earth, rolling a little to put some distance between her and Krass, but she underestimated his anger at being hurt. Before she could react, she was met with blinding pain in her ribs as he kicked her with such force, that she lifted from the dirt and landed a few inches from where she had landed and slammed her back against a solid tree trunk.

Light burst across her vision, as she gasped desperately for air, body blinded by pain as it folded in on itself for protection, while she watched Krass's heavy boots stumble forward, blood dripping from where he cradled his shredded uniform across his chest.

Octavia barely even registered the bellowing yell that echoed through the trees, or the look of surprise that again shifted Krass's face away from his murderous approach on where she continued to gasp like a fish out of water to no avail.

Suddenly the air managed it way back in and gasped and coughed, feeling her now broken ribs grind at the effort, sending a fresh blinding pain and instant nausea to the surface. Time sped up again and she looked up just fast enough to see Bellamy, knife in hand strike Krass in the chest, burying the knife to the hilt, just below the man's collarbone.

His eyes snapped open wide with shock and then confusion as he seemed to contemplate the hilt protruding from him as he stumbled back towards Octavia's feet. She scrambled out of the way as he slumped to his knees with a grunt, swiping his arm out to try to grasp at her while she tried to get out of his way while he gasped in short grunts as bloody bubbles tinged his lips.

Bellamy panted as he slumped over and helped Octavia out of the way of the dying man as he tumbled back against the trunk that Octavia had be flung against. Octavia let Bellamy help her up, her head splitting and cradling her ribs as she glared at Krass, blood now dripping down the side of his mouth as the corner slowly turned up in a smile.

"You think this means you win?!" He ground out, blood spraying as he spoke before he started to laugh, having it quickly turn into a spasm of coughing. "You will never know peace! You will always wage war! You are brutal perfection!" he coughed out, locking eyes with Octavia.

She pushed off Bellamy with a feral snarl, and snatched up one of her swords from the ground, "Skairipa and Bloodreina can finally die with your blood." She growled out viciously as she spun in a tight circle, bringing the sword across his neck in a smooth motion, cutting it open and silencing his laughter.

As she brought down her sword, Octavia collapsed at Bellamy's feet in great heaving sobs. Finally grieving everything that had happened to her since they landed with the original 100. The loss of her friends, the loss of her love, the loss of her innocence, and the weight of all the terrible things she had done in the name of being Wonkru's savior as the smoke seemed to lazily curl around them, wind and storming having seemed to be soothed with Krass's death.

Bellamy stepped forward as his sister's heart wrenching sobs eased, "O?" he said softly, laying a hand on her trembling shoulder, her head lifting slightly in response to the tenderness in his voice.

"It is done Bell." She said, a tone of finality hanging between them ominously. She stood, her face hardening, blood trails smeared down dirty cheeks. "I'm not going back." She added, her eyes flicking to Clarke who was standing a few paces back, giving the siblings some space.

"O.." Bellamy started, but Octavia raised her hand, placing it over his heart, stopping him with the simple gesture.

"No, Bell. You have found some kind of peace. My demons will haunt me for a very long time, and I can't be in that peace right now. Krass was right." She said softly, nodding her head in the direction of Haven.

"O, please..." Bellamy almost pleaded, shocked at the force of how much her words were hurting him to his core and how much he desperately wanted her to come back with him to Haven.

Octavia stopped him again, "I have already made arrangements with Archon to have my own safe place away from the colony. I won't be gone, big brother. Just now with you...for now." She said hesitantly as if she didn't really believe she could ever rejoin a peaceful life.

Bellamy took a deep breath and folded Octavia into his arms, "I love you." He said quietly into her ear, feeling her hick-up with emotion against his chest, making her somehow feel incredibly small suddenly in his arms and he swallowed hard against the tears that were threatening to overflow and released her.

Octavia nodded once more to her big brother, and moved passed him to Clarke, "Archon will know how to contact me if you need me for...any reason." She said, a slight mischievous look twinkled momentarily in her eyes.

Clarke huffed out a momentary laugh and reached out a hand to Octavia, rolling her eyes at the women good naturedly, "Good to know. You take care of yourself. We are here for you." Clarke added, humor leaving her look.

Octavia felt the lump of emotion again in her throat and pulled Clarke against her for a hug, "Take care of him okay?" She said softly in Clarke's ear.

"Always." Clarke replied and felt a couple tears slip out and down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut against it.

Octavia pulled away from Clarke, and with one last look at Bellamy she stood off purposely through the trees, the smoke curling around her till it covered her retreat.

Clarke walked over to Bellamy, who was watching the spot where Octavia had been swallowed by the smoke, with silent tears the only reflection of his inner pain. "Common, we need to go tell everyone that it's clear. We have a lot of work to do now."

Bellamy cleared his throat, blinking a few times before looking down at Clarke, "Together?" He asked softly holding out his hand to her.

"Together." She echoed him, accepting his outstretched hand.


	34. Epilogue

**Well, I managed to finally write an ending I liked. Thank you for all who have read this far, who kept coming back and who made this story a favorite! Depending how this season ends i might write a new spin off from season 6 into 7. Drop me a comment PLEASE if you would like to have a new story! I'm also playing around with some original ideas, so stay tuned! Please comment on this finished work...it only helps me write better for the future!**

 **As always...I own nothing...3**

 **Epilogue**

Clarke smoothed the wrinkles from her soft blue dress slightly as she frowned in the mirror at her reflection. She was expected to dress up for the celebration dinner, but she felt out of sorts in such nice clothes, the material flowing lightly as if there were a constant, slight breeze causing the bottom to billow out every so slightly. It had been one year since Haven had defeat Krass's army and a peace treaty had finally been reached with the remaining factions of the Colony, so now, there was a celebration of the peace.

Sighing, she gave up and turned, heading down the stairs to where Bellamy and Madi were waiting in their finer clothes, soft conversation stopping, bringing Clarke's gaze up from the stairs she descended to question them with a look as they both were staring, opened mouth at her.

"It's just a dress." Clarke stammered, feeling the color rise in her cheeks as Bellamy continued to openly gape, mouth slightly open in dumbfounded silence, corners turning up in an appreciative smile.

Madi beamed, "You look beautiful Clarke!" She gushed and rushed over to hug her in child-like excitement.

Clarke kept Bellamy's gaze over the top of Madi's head, feeling the color heat her through as she saw the unveiled admiration in his eyes. "You look lovely too, Madi." Clarke said, finally ripping her gaze away from Bellamy down to the girl as she giggled, twirling in her softly multi-hewed shirt with matching airy shirt. Clarke noticed then that Madi had the sigil of the Commander in place on her forehead.

"Madi…." Clarke started, voice edged with deep concern and renewed worry, making her brow furrow at the girl, as she hadn't wore the insignia since Clarke put her in cryo sleep.

"Clarke, it's okay." Madi said firmly as she saw Clarke's eyes darken, "I had Jordan make a copy for all the members of the counsel." She said opening her hand, showing two small circles to Clarke, her eyes flicking to Bellamy for a moment.

Clarke looked down at her hand confused as Madi continued, "This will now be a symbol of leadership and hope. All the remaining members of Wonkru know it, and respect it, and all the members of the Eligis crew know it means power and strength. This will unify our counsel. And Archon has agreed it's a good idea." She explained, including Archon softly as an afterthought.

Clarke looked up with wonder at Madi for arranging such a monumental unifying symbol, that had such a huge meaning for her past, and looked down again at the two small discs Madi held out in her hand.

Madi picked one up lightly, stepping forward, and placed it on Clarke's forehead gently, "You deserve peace Clarke. With this, we all can take the weight together." She said softly, slightly reverently, before turning to Bellamy with the other disc.

"You need not bare anything alone again." She said, reaching up as Bellamy bent slightly, to allow her to place the disc on his forehead as well, as Clarke watched the moment with tears in her eyes.

Just then the door opened and Jordan came blustering in, face flushed with excitement as he always got with new and exciting group activities.

"Let's go!" Madi said flouncing to Jordan, slipping easily back into the child-like attitude that was more to her age, breaking the moment.

"Hey twerp!" Jordan said affectionately as Madi scowled at him in response, the dark look never tainting her mood. "Oh, good, you gave them theirs." He added with a nod as he saw the Sigil on Clarke and Bellamy. "I just delivered the other ones to Archon."

Madi took one more quick glance at Bellamy and Clarke, who were looking at each others markings she had placed on them, with a smile on her lips. "They are going to take forever now..." She said dramatically rolling her eyes.

"Okay...okay. You and I will just go then. God forbid you miss anything." Jordan said sarcastically, reveling in Madi's excitement, while he was trying hard to contain his own.

Clarke registered the door closing behind the two, but she was focused on Bellamy and his sigil, and how he seemed utterly different to her in his soft khaki colored pants, and dark brown shirt that matched his eyes. The shirt gaped open with the ties loose, revealing the dark, tanned skin if his toned chest underneath. She had never seen him in such soft clothes, looking so at peace, even with the Commanders mark standing out just below his shorter hair. He was keeping it more to the length she remembered from when they first landed on Earth, to match with his, surprisingly, freshly shaven face.

Clarke couldn't help herself as she walked slowly up to her partner, co leader, best friend, and reached up, sliding a hand across his now smooth cheek. "You shaved." She said a little breathlessly eyes still traveling up to the sigil.

Bellamy chuckled, leaning into her hand slightly, "You approve then?" He asked, the self consciousness creeping into his voice ever so slightly.

Clarke smile at him endearingly, "Reminds me of when I first met you." She teased lightly and leaned up on her tip toes for a light kiss.

Life had settled into a regular pattern for them in the last year and it seemed like tonight was the start of a turning point, but it had been leaving Clarke a little uneasy. They had negotiated a peace with the Colony, and started to bring select members down to Haven over the last few months, but there were a lot of unknown people to Clarke that would be woken very soon and it had her worrying about this peaceful life she was starting to enjoy.

Bellamy watched the thoughts play across Clarke's face, her features slightly darkening momentarily with some though that she got caught in. "What is it?" He asked, more out of habit than anything, as he always seemed to be in tune with her thoughts and usually felt the same way as she did.

Clarke pushed away the dark thoughts and focused back on Bellamy as he leaned against the back of their couch, dark eyes studying her closely. It felt like he read every thought with his gaze and she stepped closer, running her hands down his chest, feeling the softness of the material under her fingers.

It was Bellamy's turn to be self conscious, as Clarke's hands roamed his chest. He wasn't used to such nice clothing, let alone something so open and he was beginning to feel like he should go and change his clothes.

"I can't remember the last time I saw you in something other than black." Clarke said softly, more thinking out loud than actually making a comment.

Bellamy chuckled and raked his hand through his much shorter hair out of habit, "I don't know…maybe I should change…." He mumbled under his breath uncomfortably.

Clarke's head popped up from where she was gazing at his chest, a soft, playful smile now on her lips, "The great rebel king, is actually self conscious?!" She asked, slightly disbelieving. "You shouldn't be. You look….." She said wryly as she slid her hands between the gaping opening of his shirt and leaned up to kiss him.

Bellamy melted under her fingers as he felt the heat rise inside of him, and wrapped his arms around her small waist, pressing her against the length of him. He loved how she tasted and the scent of her fruity soap seemed to envelope him as his desire spread, and he wound a hand through her silky locks that were now halfway down her back.

Their simple kiss quickly exploded in a searing fire that had Clarke breathless in moments as her hands moved on their own to his waist, slipping under the hem of his shirt and finding the smooth hot skin on his back with singular purpose, pulling a low, growling moan from him against her mouth. She unraveled at the sound, grinding against him as her breathing came in short gasps while she crashed her mouth against his.

Clarke groaned against Bellamy's mouth and he recognized the shift in the atmosphere immediately, pulling away slightly, slowing his breath and trying to calm his emotions. "Party?" He asked, as her piercing blue eyes reflected his disappointment in ending their kiss.

"If we don't leave now…." Clarke said trailing off her thought as her gaze wandered back down to Bellamy's lips.

Bellamy responded with his trademark lopsided grin, and stood, keeping his arms around Clarke, enjoying the feel of the soft gauzy material. "Let's go…." He added, giving her a turn towards the door.

The walked leisurely towards the party, watching kids run through the corridor dressed in similarly soft colors, laughing and shouting in excitement at each other. It didn't take long for Clarke to feel her mind work and her features darken.

"I can hear you mind working from here Clarke." Bellamy said frowning at her, sensing he wasn't going to like her mood change.

"Have you heard from Octavia?" Clarke asked slowing there strolling pace even further so she could turn to look at him.

Bellamy frowned slightly, shoulders dropping a little as it seemed like a weight had descended upon him with her question. "Nothing in the last two months, but Archon assured me she was alright and had finally found a safe place to make her camp."

Clarke tended to stay away from the topic of the other Blake sibling unless he brought it up. Octavia had made it clear that she wasn't comfortable with peace until she had dealt with some of her demons, and to do that she needed to be on her own. Archon had assisted her in training about the dangers of the planet, making suggestion of camp locations far enough she would be on her own, but not so far that she couldn't get help if needed. She had also supplied her with everything she needed for gear and shelter, while Raven had made sure she had a radio for communication in case of an emergency.

Bellamy had taken it pretty hard, since they had seemed to come to a better place in the days leading up to the battle with Krass, but he ultimately respected his sister's decision to keep her distance. He wanted her to find whatever peace she could, and if it meant giving her some space, then he would do that.

"Raven told me she sent her a radio message to invite her." Clarke said softly, turning to walk slowly again.

"Yeah, she mentioned that to me, but hadn't heard anything back." He responded thoughtfully as he walked, now looking at his feet, mind working on the mixed emotions.

Clarke continued to walk in silence, letting him mull things over, not pushing it. There was a delicate line to walk when she talked about his sister. Suddenly they were greeted by welcoming voices, echoing off the buildings.

"I told you they would take forever!" Madi exclaimed as they came into sight of the festivities. Jordan was beside her, beaming as Murphy lounged against a pole beside them, eyes occasionally scanning the crowd as he waited on Emori to show up with Raven and Echo.

Clarke smiled, and greeted her daughter, as Bellamy pushed away the dark thoughts about his sister for the time being. They had worked long and hard to be better in this new place and he wanted to enjoy it a little.

The party went long into the night, with music, food and drinks in abundance for all that attended and Clarke finally dragged herself off to a corner where the night breeze lightly kissed the sweat on the back of her neck, and she looked out across the crowd. Emori and Murphy stood together, as she seemed to be holding Murphy up as he told a story to the others with great animation, the group's laughter lost in the noise of the hall. Miller and Jackson swayed in each others arms to the music playing, lost in their own private moment, making Clarke smile lightly, as her gaze drifted around, landing on Madi and Jordan with a group of young adults, laughing and moving to the music as they seemed to have multiple conversations going all at once.

Clarke's heart felt full at the sight, and her eye caught Echo in a darker corner of the hall, leaning comfortably in a chair, Carson's ever present form in deep conversation with her. They had seemed to have formed a deep relationship over the last year and Clarke wondered idly if Echo had finally opened up to someone again as she watched a rare smile beam towards Carson at a comment. To Clark's surprise, she followed her smile with a tilt of her head, hand reaching out to rest on the arm he had draped over the rest of her chair so they could hear each others conversation. Carson's face registered the slightest sign of confusion before Echo stood, indicating he should be doing the same before she turned to walk out of the hall. Carson stared dumbly after her before springing up to hurry after her.

Clarke shook her head and smiled as she scanned the crowd further Raven had her head down in deep conversation with Shaw and a small cluster that Clarke registered were all responsible for the engineering of most of Haven. She had been very busy trying to make a much better communication system between The Colony and Haven to keep a constant link between both peoples.

"I think it's time for me to head back up to the ship." Abby said, sliding in close to where Clarke was leaning.

"Okay. Is Shaw taking you." Clarke said, smiling at her mother. She had been in constant conversation with the T'Owvie healers on how and when they could look at getting Kane out of cryo safely and treat his injuries. She had monopolized a lot of Ravens time until they had come up with a way to transport Kane back to the surface or bring the healers to the ship.

They had finally gotten a solid plan and were going to bring Kane to the surface in a few days. Ever since then Abby had been practically living on the ship, turning and practicing for when they would try to help Kane.

"Yes, then he's coming back. He will come get us and bring the other healers to help for the trip back." Abby responded, her features dark with thought.

Clarke reached a hand to her, "He's going to be okay, mom." She said reassuringly and leaning in to give the woman a hug.

"Thanks, honey." She said in Clarke's ear, and Clarke could feel the hitch in her breathing as she squeezed her.

Abby gave her a quick kiss on her cheek before moving off to get Shaw's attention as Bellamy walked up to take Abby's place beside Clarke. He leaned in, placing a soft kiss on her temple. Clarke still hadn't quite gotten used to him showing such affection in public, even after this long of time, and she could feel her cheeks warm a little. Their relationship seemed to be seamless, moving from their leadership and best friend status to a sort of domestic normalcy. Madi was, for the most part, beyond parenting, but Bellamy seemed to assume a fatherly role with her easily, which Clarke's loved him all that much more for.

"So…Princess," Bellamy said in her ear, a mischievous grin plastered on his face, "can I get you a drink?" He finished moving back slightly so he could see her piercing blue eyes dancing with mirth at his use of her long forgotten nickname.

"Actually," she said, raising an eyebrow at him, "How about one at home? Madi is staying with friends tonight after all." She suggested, wrapping an arm around his waist, slipping her fingers under the hem on his shirt in the back, and ever so lightly, dragging her nails over his bare skin.

"Mmm mmm," Bellamy responded, Clarke, feeling the rumble against her side as he continued. "Sounds good to me."

For a brief moment, it struck Clarke she had used the word home without a though. This was now home. They had come so far, and lost so much to get here, but she thought Monty and Harper would be proud of what they had accomplished. There was a lot of work to do yet with the integration of the rest of those in cryo sleep at that was a huge unknown, but for now, they seemed to have found the peace she never thought was possible and with it, a love that was unimaginable.

"You coming?" Bellamy asked, concern flickering across his features as he turned back to see her lost in thought.

"Yeah. I'm good." Clarke replied, his voice pulling her from her thoughts back to the present. She waved at Madi who had caught her and Bellamy leaving.

Clarke had a moment of spontaneity as they left the warm building into the cool predawn air, and slipped her hand into his warm, larger one. Bellamy glaced down, slightly surprised by her gestured before pulling her in close as they walked.

"Are you sure you are okay?" He said studying her closely as they walked through the buildings at a leisurely pace, his voice reflecting slight concern at her subtle shift in attitude.

Clarke smile to herself and stopped, taking his other hand in hers and pulling him close enough that she could feel his warmth radiating though the gauzy material of her dress, then looked into his searching brown eyes. "For the first time," she started slowly, voice soft, "I think, since, before my Dad was floated, I can actually say I am."


End file.
